jiǎo / jiáo
verb #21,324

Meanings

  1. 1 to correct
  2. 2 to straighten
  3. 3 to rectify
  4. 4 strong and vigorous
  5. 5 to feign; to pretend

Examples

HSK 3
Zhèzhǒng xíngwéi bìxū jíshí jiǎozhèng.
This behavior must be corrected in a timely manner.
HSK 6
Zhèwèi niánqīng yùndòngyuán shēnshǒu jiǎojiàn.
The young athlete has a strong and agile build.
HSK 7-9
Yīshēng bāng tā jiǎozhèng le yáchǐ.
The doctor helped him straighten his teeth.

Tips

memory
Think of as 'bending back into shape'. It contains (arrow), which must fly straight, so to is to make something arrow-straight again.
usage
Read jiǎo for the everyday senses of correcting or straightening (矫正, 矫健). A separate colloquial reading jiáo appears only in 矫情 (being deliberately difficult or fussy).

Components

radical
shǐ
arrow
Arrow radical on the left supplies the literal image: bent arrows had to be straightened over heat before they would fly true. From that craft-bench origin widened to mean any kind of correction or rectification, from orthodontics to posture to character.
phonetic
qiáo
tall; lofty
Right side supplies the sound: qiáo shifting to jiǎo, a common palatal-initial pattern. The 'tall and upright' sense of also matches what a straightened arrow becomes: vertical, true, no longer warped.

Stroke Order

jiǎo