翘 (qiáo): outstanding; pre-eminent

Meanings

1 outstanding; pre-eminent
2 to lift up (the head); to look up eagerly

Characters

翘

qiáo

outstanding; pre-eminent

Examples

大家都翘首以待胜利的那一刻。

Dàjiā dōu qiáoshǒu yǐdài shènglì de nàyīkè.

Everyone watched eagerly for the moment of victory.

她是我们行业的翘楚。

Tā shì wǒmen hángyè de qiáochǔ.

She is the leading figure in our field.

Tips

register

The qiáo reading is literary and bound to set expressions — don't try to use it as a free word. The two you'll meet most often are 翘首 (to crane one's neck, look up expectantly) and 翘楚 (the standout in a field). Both retain a refined, classical flavor.

memory

Picture a giraffe stretching its head up over the brambles: that's 翘首 (head raised, looking) and 翘楚 (the tallest stalk above the thicket — hence 'outstanding'). Both ride on the same image of being lifted high above the crowd.

Components

radical

羽 yǔ

feather; wing

Same feather radical as in qiào. The literary sense 'outstanding' rides on the same picture: a long plume held high above the head — pre-eminent, eye-catching. Same radical in 翔 (soar), 翼 (wing).

phonetic

尧 yáo

Yao (legendary emperor); high mound

Same phonetic 尧 as in the qiào reading. The qiáo form preserves the historical second-tone reading; qiào is a later derived sense. The 'high mound' echo from traditional 堯 fits the qiáo sense of being lifted, eminent, above the rest.