跷 (qiāo): to raise one's foot; to stand o…

Meanings

1 to raise one's foot; to stand on tiptoe
2 stilts

Characters

跷

qiāo

to raise foot; to tiptoe; stilts

Examples

HSK 6

孩子们踩着高跷在台上表演。

Háizimen cǎi zhe gāoqiāo zài tái shàng biǎoyǎn.

The children performed on stage walking on stilts.

HSK 7-9

她跷着脚尖才能够到那个架子。

Tā qiāo zhe jiǎojiān cáinéng gòu dào nàge jiàzi.

She had to stand on her tiptoes to reach that shelf.

Tips

usage

跷 alone means to raise or tiptoe. In compounds: 高跷 (stilts), 跷跷板 (seesaw), 跷课 (to skip class).

Components

radical

足 zú

foot; leg

Foot radical on the left - depicts a knee above a foot, originally signalling the whole leg. Carries the meaning of 跷: to lift the foot, stand on tiptoe, or prop one leg over the other. Sits with 跑 run, 跳 jump, 跟 follow, 踢 kick - the full vocabulary of leg-led action.

phonetic

尧 yáo

tall; lofty (here phonetic)

Right side 尧 supplies the sound - yáo shifting to qiāo, a documented y/q palatal alternation in the same series as 浇 water-pour and 翘 lift-up. 尧 also means 'high', which faintly reinforces the meaning: lifting a foot up high. Same phonetic in 烧 burn, 晓 dawn, 绕 wind-around.