教
教 (jiāo) means “to teach”. It is made of 孝 + 攵 and has 11 strokes, and is an HSK 2 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).
Break 教 into its parts
What 教 is made of
- 孝 xiào — filial piety
- 耂 lǎo — old
- 土 tǔ — earth
- 丿 — falling stroke
- 子 zǐ — child
- 了 liǎo / le — finish
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 耂 lǎo — old
- 攵 pū — to rap
- 乂 yì — crossed strokes
- 丿 — falling stroke
- 乂 yì — crossed strokes
Origin hint: 攵 gives the meaning, 孝 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
教 stroke order
Example sentences
李老师教我们汉语。Lǐ lǎoshī jiāo wǒmen Hànyǔ.Teacher Li teaches us Chinese.
你能教我唱这个歌吗？Nǐ néng jiāo wǒ chàng zhège gē ma?Can you teach me to sing this song?
Words with 教
- 教学楼jiàoxuélóuclassroom building
- 教师jiàoshīteacher
- 教室jiàoshìclassroom
- 教学jiàoxuéteaching
- 教育jiàoyùeducation
- 教材jiàocáitextbook
- 教练jiàoliàncoach
- 请教qǐngjiàoto ask for advice
- 教授jiàoshòuprofessor
- 教训jiàoxunlesson
- 教养jiàoyǎngupbringing
- 宗教zōngjiàoreligion
Quick facts
| Pinyin | jiāo |
|---|---|
| Meaning | to teach |
| Strokes | 11 |
| Radical | 攴 (tap, #66) |
| Pattern | Left–right |
| HSK | HSK 2 (exam 2025) · HSK 1 (2021) · Old HSK 3 |
Questions about 教
What does 教 mean?
教 (jiāo) means “to teach”.
How many strokes does 教 have?
教 has 11 strokes.
What is the radical of 教?
The radical of 教 is 攴 (pū, “tap”), Kangxi radical number 66.
What parts make up 教?
教 is made of 孝 (filial piety) and 攵 (to rap).
Which HSK level is 教?
教 is in HSK 2 (exam 2025) and HSK 1 (2021) and Old HSK 3.
Learn 教 with its group
It is part of HSK 1 (2021) · Group 33: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.