HSK Guide

教 jiāo, jiào — (jiāo) to teach, to instruct; (jiào) education, teaching; a religion

jiāo (first tone, high and level) jiào (fourth tone, falling)

2 readings — the first is the most common.

(jiāo) to teach, to instruct; (jiào) education, teaching; a religion

11 strokesRadical 攴Frequency #226
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Pinyin

  • jiāo (first tone, high and level)most common
  • jiào (fourth tone, falling)

(jiāo) to teach, to instruct; (jiào) education, teaching; a religion

Character breakdown

Ideographic description

⿰孝攵The sequence reads left to right and describes how the parts are arranged.

  • 孝shape partno entry yetIn the modern shape this is 孝 "filial", but the oldest form has 爻, crossed tally sticks, over 子, the child: the lesson and the pupil.
  • 攵meaning partno entry yetA hand holding a stick: the tap that sets something in motion, and in a schoolroom, the rod.

Mnemonic

The child with his lesson on the left, a hand with a stick on the right — old-fashioned schooling in one character. The reading follows the grammar: jiāo when it is the verb, 教汉语, 教书, 他教我们数学; jiào in the nouns built on it, 教育 education, 教室 a classroom, 教授 a professor, 宗教 religion.

A memory aid written by HSK Guide editors. It is not an etymology and does not describe the historical origin of the character.

Words containing 教

Radical 攴 — other characters