翘 (qiào): to stick up; to point upward

Meanings

1 to stick up; to point upward
2 to raise (one end)
3 to warp; to curl up at the edges
4 to skip (class, work) — colloquial

Characters

翘

qiào

stick up; raise; warp

Examples

他翘着二郎腿坐在椅子上。

Tā qiào zhe èrlángtuǐ zuò zài yǐzi shàng.

He sat in the chair with his legs crossed.

这块木板翘起来了。

Zhè kuài mùbǎn qiào qǐlái le.

This wooden board has warped.

他今天翘课了。

Tā jīntiān qiào kè le.

He skipped class today.

Tips

usage

Default reading qiào covers the everyday senses: tipping one end up (翘二郎腿, crossing legs), warping (boards, paper), and the slangy 翘课 'to skip class'. Also gives 翘臀 (perky butt) and 翘尾巴 (figurative: to get cocky).

register

A literary second reading 翘 (second tone) means 'outstanding / lifted up' and only appears in a handful of set expressions: 翘首 (to crane one's neck in anticipation), 翘楚 (the leader of a field — literally 'tallest among the brambles'), 翘材 (outstanding talent). Save qiáo for these literary collocations.

Components

radical

羽 yǔ

feather; wing

Right indexing radical 羽 (feather / wing) — anchors the meaning. 翘 originally referred to long tail-feathers of a bird sticking up at attention; from there it became 'something with one end stuck up,' then 'to warp,' then the modern slang 翘课 (skip class). Same radical in 翅 (wing), 翔 (soar), 翁 (old father-bird).

phonetic

尧 yáo

Yao (legendary emperor); high mound

Left 尧 supplies the sound (yáo → qiáo / qiào, with shift). Simplified 翘 uses 尧 in place of traditional 翹's 堯, which depicted a high mound — fitting the 'raised, lifted up' meaning. The legendary-emperor association comes from the same character but plays no role here; the function is sonic.