吊 meaning in English

diào

to suspend; to hang up

HSK 6verb6 strokes

Meaning of 吊

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

diào

to suspend
to hang up
to hang a person

diào

a string of 100 cash (arch.)
to lament
to condole with
variant of 吊[diao4]

How to use 吊

吊 (diào) means to hang something so it dangles, or to lift it with a rope or crane. It appears in everyday words like 吊灯 (diàodēng, hanging lamp) and 吊车 (diàochē, crane), and in the idiom 提心吊胆 (tíxīn-diàodǎn, on edge). Example: 天花板上吊着一盏灯。(Tiānhuābǎn shàng diàozhe yì zhǎn dēng.) A lamp hangs from the ceiling.

Look at 吊 as a mouth 口 sitting on top of 巾 (a cloth). Picture a cloth bag hanging down from a hook, swinging in the air.

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 吊 (diào) with 挂 (guà). 挂 is the general word for hanging something on a hook or wall, like 挂衣服 (guà yīfu), while 吊 stresses something dangling in the air or being lifted, and it can also refer to hanging a person, so 上吊 (shàngdiào) means to hang oneself. Do not use 吊 casually where 挂 is expected.

吊 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

汤tāng姆mǔ向xiàng他tā的de朋péng友yǒu吐tǔ露lù他tā要yào上shàng吊diào自zì杀shā。

Tom confided in his friend that he was going to hang himself.

他tā上shàng吊diào自zì杀shā了le。

He committed suicide by hanging himself.

革gé命mìng的de时shí候hòu他tā被bèi吊diào死sǐ了le。

He was hanged during the Revolution.

你nǐ里lǐ面miàn要yào搭dā一yī件jiàn白bái色sè的de吊diào带dài。

You should compliment it with a white camisole.

她tā的de这zhè件jiàn吊diào带dài蕾lěi丝sī睡shuì衣yī很hěn漂piào亮liàng。

She has this pretty lace nightgown with straps.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

吊 diào · to suspend · 6 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 吊.

吊销	diàoxiāo	to suspend (an agreement); to revoke
提心吊胆	tíxīn-diàodǎn	(idiom) nervous; fearful; on edge
吊死	diàosǐ	death by hanging; to hang oneself
上吊	shàngdiào	to hang oneself
吊灯	diàodēng	hanging lamp
吊车	diàochē	hoist; crane
吊床	diàochuáng	hammock
吊桥	diàoqiáo	drawbridge; suspension bridge
吊起	diàoqǐ	to hoist

Questions about 吊

What does 吊 mean?

吊 (diào) means "to suspend; to hang up" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 吊?

吊 is made of 1 character: 吊 (6 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.

Is 吊 an HSK word?

Yes. 吊 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What does 吊销 mean, and where would I see it?

吊销 (diàoxiāo) means to revoke, usually an official document. You often see it in phrases like 吊销驾照 (diàoxiāo jiàzhào), to revoke a driver's license, or 吊销执照, to revoke a business license.

Can 吊 mean to mourn someone?

Yes. In formal or older usage 吊 means to condole or lament, as in 吊唁 (diàoyàn), to offer condolences. This sense is mostly limited to fixed written expressions, while the hanging meaning is far more common in daily speech.