叫 (jiào) · to call, to be called, to order

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

HSK 1

我叫小明。

Wǒ jiào Xiǎo Míng.

My name is Xiao Ming.

HSK 1

他叫什么名字？

Tā jiào shénme míngzi?

What's his name?

HSK 1

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

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.