校 (jiào): to proofread; to collate

Meanings

1 to proofread; to collate
2 to check; to verify
3 to calibrate; to adjust

Characters

校

jiào

to proofread; to collate

Examples

HSK 5

编辑校出了十多处错字。

Biānjí jiào chū le shí duō chù cuòzì.

The editor caught more than ten typos.

HSK 6

请再校对一遍这份稿子。

Qǐng zài jiàoduì yī biàn zhè fèn gǎozi.

Please proofread this manuscript once more.

HSK 6

仪器每年都要校准一次。

Yíqì měi nián dōu yào jiàozhǔn yī cì.

The instruments need to be calibrated every year.

Tips

usage

jiào lives in two semantic clusters. EDITORIAL/TEXTUAL: 校对 (proofread), 校对员 (proofreader), 精校 (meticulous proofreading), 校正 (correct, edit). INSTRUMENT/MEASUREMENT: 校准 (calibrate), 校验码 (check digit, checksum). Both senses share the meaning 'compare against a reference and correct'. The school reading xiào never crosses over.

memory

The phonetic 交 ('to cross / intersect') quietly carries the jiào sense: when you proofread or calibrate, you're laying two things side by side and comparing where they cross - text against original, reading against reference value. xiào (school) is the other branch of meaning from 校; jiào is the comparing-and-correcting branch.

Components

radical

木 mù

tree; wood

Left tree radical - indexing radical for 校. Originally 校 meant a wooden enclosure or cangue (the X-shaped wooden frame used to discipline prisoners), then a wooden military camp, then a wooden teaching hall - wood underlies every sense. Same family as 桌 (table), 椅 (chair), 板 (plank). The school-meaning is the modern descendant of 'wooden teaching hall'.

phonetic

交 jiāo

cross; intersect

Right phonetic 交 - supplies the sound (jiāo → xiào, palatal shift; same family as 较, 狡, 咬). Originally pictured a person with crossed legs. The crossing image sneaks back as semantic flavor: 校 also reads jiào meaning 'to check, collate, proofread' - comparing two texts side by side, where they cross.