调 (tiáo): to adjust; to regulate

Meanings

1 to adjust; to regulate
2 to harmonize; to reconcile
3 to mix; to blend
4 to season (food)
5 to tease; to provoke

Characters

调

tiáo

to adjust; to mix; to harmonize

Examples

把音量调小一点。

Bǎ yīnliàng tiáo xiǎo yīdiǎn.

Turn the volume down a bit.

他在调颜色。

Tā zài tiáo yánsè.

He's mixing colors.

妈妈正在调馅儿，准备包饺子。

Māma zhèngzài tiáo xiànr, zhǔnbèi bāo jiǎozi.

Mom is mixing the filling, getting ready to wrap dumplings.

Tips

usage

tiáo is the 'bring into balance' reading: tune a knob, blend ingredients, mediate a dispute, season a dish. Common compounds: 调整 (adjust), 调节 (regulate), 调味 (season), 协调 (coordinate), 空调 (air conditioner — literally 'regulate the air').

mistakes

Don't confuse with diào. If the verb means 'adjust / mix / mediate / season / flirt,' it's tiáo (调整, 调料, 调情). If it means 'transfer / investigate' or refers to a tone/melody, switch to diào (调动, 调查, 音调). Trap pair: 调皮 (mischievous) is tiáo, but 调子 (melody) is diào.

Components

radical

讠 yán

speech; words

Left speech radical, contracted from 言. The original sense was tuning words to harmonize a conversation; from that came musical tone (the diào reading) and the broader idea of adjusting or mixing. Same family as 说 (speak), 谈 (chat), 谢 (thank).

phonetic

周 zhōu

circle; cycle (here phonetic)

Right 周 supplies the sound — zhōu drifted to tiáo and diào in this phonetic family (compare 雕, 凋). Its own meaning of completeness or full cycle adds a faint flavor of bringing things into balance, but the role is principally phonetic.