调 (tiáo): to adjust; to regulate

Meanings

1 to adjust; to regulate
2 to harmonize; to reconcile
3 to mix; to blend
4 to season (food)
5 to tease; to provoke

Characters

调

tiáo

to adjust; to mix; to harmonize

Examples

HSK 2

他在调颜色。

Tā zài tiáo yánsè.

He's mixing colors.

HSK 6

把音量调小一点。

Bǎ yīnliàng tiáo xiǎo yīdiǎn.

Turn the volume down a bit.

HSK 7-9

妈妈正在调馅儿，准备包饺子。

Māma zhèngzài tiáo xiànr, zhǔnbèi bāo jiǎozi.

Mom is mixing the filling, getting ready to wrap dumplings.

Tips

usage

tiáo is the 'bring into balance' reading: tune a knob, blend ingredients, mediate a dispute, season a dish. Common compounds: 调整 (adjust), 调节 (regulate), 调味 (season), 协调 (coordinate), 空调 (air conditioner - literally 'regulate the air').

mistakes

Don't confuse with diào. If the verb means 'adjust / mix / mediate / season / flirt,' it's tiáo (调整, 调料, 调情). If it means 'transfer / investigate' or refers to a tone/melody, switch to diào (调动, 调查, 音调). Trap pair: 调皮 (mischievous) is tiáo, but 调子 (melody) is diào.

Components

radical

讠 yán

speech; words

Left speech radical, contracted from 言. The original sense was tuning words to harmonize a conversation; from that came musical tone (the diào reading) and the broader idea of adjusting or mixing. Same family as 说 (speak), 谈 (chat), 谢 (thank).

phonetic

周 zhōu

circle; cycle

Right 周 supplies the sound - zhōu drifted to tiáo and diào in this phonetic family (compare 雕, 凋). Its own meaning of completeness or full cycle adds a faint flavor of bringing things into balance, but the role is principally phonetic.