Dictionary › 挑

挑

tiǎo

HSK 5 Character

What 挑 means

1. to raise
2. to dig up
3. to poke
4. to prick
5. to incite
6. to stir up

Other readings

挑 is 多音字 — it is read more than one way, and the reading changes the meaning.

• tiāoto carry on a shoulder pole; to choose; to pick

Example sentences

• 我不挑剔。
  I'm not fussy.
• 挑选一个吧。
  Tiāoxuǎn yī gè ba.
  Choose one.
• 这只狗挑了。
  This dog jumped.
• 汤姆相当挑剔。
  Tom is quite fussy.
• 他是个挑衅高手。
  Tā shì gè tiǎoxìn gāoshǒu.
  He's a master of provocation.
• 别挑战我的耐心。
  Don't try my patience.

Words starting with 挑

• 挑战tiǎo zhànto challenge; to take on a challenge; a challenge
• 挑剔tiāo tipicky; fussy
• 挑衅tiǎo xìnto provoke; provocation
• 挑拨tiǎo bōto incite disharmony; to instigate
• 挑选tiāo xuǎnto choose; to select
• 挑起tiǎo qǐto provoke; to stir up; to incite
• 挑逗tiǎo dòuto provoke; to entice; to lure
• 挑食tiāo shíto be picky about food
• 挑动tiǎo dòngto entice; to arouse; to provoke
• 挑明tiǎo míngto illuminate; to open up (a topic)
• 挑战者tiǎo zhàn zhěchallenger
• 挑子tiāo zicarrying pole and its load
• 挑夫tiāo fūporter
• 挑花tiǎo huācross-stitch (embroidery)
• 挑头tiǎo tóuto take the lead; to be first to (do sth); to pioneer
• 挑高tiāo gāo(architecture) high-ceilinged; to raise (a ceiling) to a height of; ceiling height
• 挑口板tiāo kǒu bǎnfascia; eaves board
• 挑山工tiāo shān gōnglaborers who carry cargo up and down the mountains on shoulder poles
• 挑花眼tiǎo huā yǎn(fig.) to get cross-eyed; to be bewildered
• 挑战者号Tiǎo zhàn zhě HàoSpace Shuttle Challenger
• 挑染tiāo rǎnhighlight (hair); partial hair dye
• 挑毛病tiāo máo bìngto nitpick; petty criticism; to nag
• 挑嘴tiǎo zuǐto sow discord
• 挑灯tiǎo dēngto light a lamp; to raise a lantern

Words containing 挑

• 高挑gāo tiǎoraised high; (of a person) slender; tall and thin (Taiwan pr. gāo tiāo)
• 无可挑剔wú kě tiāo tiexcellent in every respect; flawless
• 单挑dān tiǎoto pick; to choose; to fight a duel
• 出挑chū tiāo(of a young person) to grow (prettier etc); to mature into; to blossom
• 细挑xì tiāoslender
• 高挑子gāo tiǎo zitall person
• 精挑细选jīng tiāo xì xuǎnto select very carefully
• 迎接挑战yíng jiē tiǎo zhànto meet a challenge
• 目挑心招mù tiǎo xīn zhāothe eye incites, the heart invites (idiom); flirtatious; making eyes at sb
• 鸡蛋里挑骨头jī dàn li tiāo gǔ touto look for bones in an egg; to find fault; to nitpick (idiom)
• 没得挑剔méi dé tiāo tiexcellent in every respect; flawless
• 柿子挑软的捏shì zi tiāo ruǎn de niēlit. it's the soft persimmons that people choose to squeeze (idiom)…
• 撂挑子liào tiāo zi(colloquial) to quit one's job in disgust
• 千挑万选qiān tiāo wàn xuǎnto select very carefully
• 百里挑一bǎi lǐ tiāo yīone in a hundred; cream of the crop
• 横挑鼻子竖挑眼héng tiāo bí zi shù tiāo yǎnto pick on sth incessantly (idiom); to criticize right and left
• 剃头挑子一头热tì tóu tiāo zi yī tóu rèlit. only one end of the barber's pole is hot (idiom); fig. one-sided enthusiasm…

Characters that look like 挑

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 挺tǐngstraight; erect; to stick out (a part of the body)
• 拯zhěngto raise; to aid; to support
• 桃táopeach
• 柄bǐnghandle or shaft (of an axe etc); (of a flower, leaf or fruit) stem…
• 栖qīto perch; to rest (of birds); to dwell
• 涎xiánsaliva

Sounds the same

Read tiǎo, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 窕quiet and secluded; gentle, graceful, and elegant
• 䠷used in 高䠷
• 斢(dialect) to exchange; to replace
• 誂to tempt
• 朓(literary) the appearance of the moon in the west at the end of a lunar month
• 宨variant of 窕