娇

嬌
jiāo
adjective #14,122

Meanings

  1. 1 lovable
  2. 2 pampered
  3. 3 tender
  4. 4 delicate
  5. 5 dainty

Examples

HSK 3
Bié bǎ háizi yǎng de tài jiāo le.
Don't raise the child to be too pampered.
HSK 7-9
Tā zhǎng de hěn jiāo, xiàng gè yángwáwa.
She looks very delicate, like a doll.

Tips

usage
娇 often appears in compounds: 娇气 (delicate/fussy), 撒娇 (to act coquettishly), 娇嫩 (tender/delicate). It can be positive (charming) or negative (spoiled).

Components

radical
女 nǚ
woman
Left woman radical - a kneeling figure with folded arms. The indexing radical, anchors 娇 in the family of female-attribute words (some appreciative, some loaded): 妹 younger sister, 婷 graceful, 媚 charming, 妩 alluring. Marks 娇 as a quality stereotypically associated in classical writing with delicate young women - tender, charming, pampered, easily indulged.
phonetic
乔 qiáo
tall; lofty
Right 乔 supplies the sound - qiáo shifting to jiāo with palatalization (q→j and tone shift). Pure phonetic role; the 'tall / lofty' meaning of 乔 contributes nothing semantically. Same phonetic family: 桥 bridge, 侨 emigrant, 矫 to correct, 骄 proud. Simplified from traditional 嬌 (with the unsimplified 喬 phonetic). 撒娇 'to act spoiled / cutesy' is the most common modern compound.

Stroke Order

娇 jiāo