叫 (jiào): to call

Meanings

1 to call
2 to be called
3 to order

Characters

叫

jiào

to call; to shout

口 (mouth) + 丩 (to twist) — a twisted cry from the mouth.

Examples

我叫小明。

Wǒ jiào Xiǎo Míng.

My name is Xiao Ming.

他叫什么名字？

Tā jiào shénme míngzi?

What's his name?

妈妈叫我回家。

Māma jiào wǒ huí jiā.

Mom told me to come home.

Tips

grammar

我叫… is the most basic way to introduce your name. 叫 literally means 'to be called'.

usage

叫 can also mean 'to order someone to do something': 老师叫我回答问题 (The teacher told me to answer a question).

Components

radical

口 kǒu

mouth

Mouth radical on the left makes the meaning explicit: any sound coming from a mouth — a shout, a call, a name. It indexes 叫 in the vocal-action family with 喊 to yell, 喝 to drink/shout, 唱 to sing, 哭 to cry. Most words you say or shout in Chinese begin with this radical.

phonetic

丩 jiū

to entwine (here phonetic)

Right is 丩, an archaic component picturing two strands twisting together (the ancestor of 纠 to entangle). It supplies the sound — jiū drifting to jiào with tone shift. Same phonetic core in 纠 to correct and 收 to collect. Mouth + entwining shout = a piercing, twisting cry. Hence 叫 covers everything from naming someone to a dog's yelp.