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佼 — pronunciations, definitions, and tags
HanziPinyinEnglishTags
佼jiǎobeautiful, handsome, good-lookingzg, 8 strokes, radical 亻
jiǎo(jiao3) T3
  1. 1beautiful, handsome, good-looking
Listen to the audio pronunciation 3 times to gain XP
March 24, 2026

佼jiǎo(jiao3)

The character 佼 (jiǎo) refers to someone who is beautiful or good-looking. It is often used to describe a person’s physical appearance in a complimentary way, typically in a more formal or literary context rather than casual conversation.

Strokes8Radical亻
Cultural Note

In traditional Chinese culture, physical appearance has often been associated with virtue and social status. Compliments involving beauty, like 佼, reflect the cultural importance of aesthetics in both personal and artistic expressions.

Memory Tip

Imagine a handsome figure standing out in a crowd, and notice the character's left part (人) resembles a person. The right part (交) can remind you of '交际' (socializing), as good-looking people often attract social attention. Together, they symbolize a charming person in social interactions.

Meanings of 佼

jiǎo(jiao3)
1beautiful, handsome, good-looking
Exercise 1 of 2

Listen & Choose the Meaning

Choose the correct answer:

About 佼

佼Simplified
8Strokes
亻Radical
状态词stative word (stat.)Part of Speech
#—Frequency Rank

Podcast: 佼

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Podcast: 佼

Listen to Jason & Amy break down this word for you

AI Study Notes for 佼

Quick Contrast

美 (měi) — use 佼 (jiǎo) for a more formal or literary tone, while 美 (měi) is more commonly used in everyday conversation.

Usage Notes

While 佼 is generally positive, it is somewhat formal and might sound overly poetic in everyday conversation. Common collocations include 佼佼者 (jiǎojiǎozhě), meaning 'outstanding person.' Avoid using it in casual contexts where simpler terms like 漂亮 (piàoliang) or 帅 (shuài) are more appropriate.

HSK Study Tips

Though 佼 is not part of the HSK vocabulary list, it enriches your understanding of descriptive adjectives in Mandarin. Students should focus on understanding its formal tone and how it can be used in literary contexts, contrasting it with more commonly used terms for beauty.

Common Mistakes

Learners often confuse 佼 with similar characters like 美 (měi) or 帅 (shuài), which are more common and versatile. For example, saying '他很佼' (Tā hěn jiǎo) might sound odd; it's better to say '他很帅' (Tā hěn shuài) for 'He is handsome.'

AI-enhanced 2026-03-24

Pronunciation of 佼

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Etymology of 佼

Formation Typepictophonetic
六书 ClassificationPhono-semantic (形声字)~80-90% of characters
Explanation

Phonosemantic compound. 亻 represents the meaning and 交 represents the sound.

Memory Hint

person

Semantic (meaning)亻
+
Phonetic (sound)交
Learn more about Phono-semantic (形声字) characters

Jason Etymology Detective

Case file: 佼

Phonosemantic compound. 亻 represents the meaning and 交 represents the sound.

  1. 1The meaning half亻 carries the sense.
  2. 2The sound half交 is there for the reading, not the meaning.
  3. 3The giveawayperson
  4. 4On the record aspictophonetic.

Every clue here comes from the character's recorded structure — nothing is guessed.

Want the full history of 佼? Jason searches the paleographic record, weighs the competing accounts and judges the popular story.

Charged once for this character — everyone reads it afterwards.
Exercise 1 of 1

Character Formation Type

What type of character formation is 佼?

Decomposition of 佼

IDS Structure⿰亻交
佼Full Character
=
亻ren2
left
交jiao1
right
Exercise 1 of 2

Identify the Components

Which of these is a component of 佼?

How to say beautiful, handsome, good-looking in Chinese

“beautiful, handsome, good-looking” in Chinese is佼jiǎo

The character 佼 (jiǎo) refers to someone who is beautiful or good-looking. It is often used to describe a person’s physical appearance in a complimentary way, typically in a more formal or literary context rather than casual conversation.

When to use 佼

While 佼 is generally positive, it is somewhat formal and might sound overly poetic in everyday conversation. Common collocations include 佼佼者 (jiǎojiǎozhě), meaning 'outstanding person.' Avoid using it in casual contexts where simpler terms like 漂亮 (piàoliang) or 帅 (shuài) are more appropriate.

佼 or something close to it

美 (měi) — use 佼 (jiǎo) for a more formal or literary tone, while 美 (měi) is more commonly used in everyday conversation.

What learners get wrong

Learners often confuse 佼 with similar characters like 美 (měi) or 帅 (shuài), which are more common and versatile. For example, saying '他很佼' (Tā hěn jiǎo) might sound odd; it's better to say '他很帅' (Tā hěn shuài) for 'He is handsome.'

Write 佼

佼

Practice writing 佼 stroke by stroke. Watch the animation to learn the stroke order, then try writing it yourself.

Write correctly 3 times to earn XP

Word Family of 佼

Words Containing This Character2
佼佼者well-known figure
佼jiǎohandsome
Exercise 1 of 2

Compound Meaning

What does 佼佼者 mean?

Frequently Asked Questions about 佼

No, 佼 is more common in literary contexts or formal situations rather than casual conversations.

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Not sure what to learn after 佼?

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