(qiǎo) — HSK 4 Recognition Character: Meaning, Radical & Stroke Order

qiǎo skillful, ingenious, clever 5 strokes · Radical (labor) · HSK 4 recognition character (认读字)
👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 巧 when reading — handwriting it is not required (that applies to the 150 writing characters). The stroke animation below is optional but helps memory.

Pronunciation & meaning

Pronounced qiǎo.

Stroke Order & Practice

Click Animate to see the correct stroke order, then Practice to trace it yourself.

1 2 3 4 5
巧 — 5 strokes, numbered in writing order. 笔顺图(数字为下笔顺序)。

Decomposition

breaks down into 2 components arranged as Left + Right. Recognizing the components makes the character easier to remember and write.

=
left labor
right obstruction of breath (qi)

Radical

The radical of is — meaning labor. Radicals are the indexing components used in Chinese dictionaries; they often hint at a character's broad meaning category.

How the character is built

is a phono-semantic compound. The semantic component (work) carries the meaning, while the phonetic component originally indicated the sound.

HSK 4 Words Containing 巧

qiǎo clever; skillful; coincidental
太巧了,我们在机场遇到了。
Tài qiǎo le, wǒmen zài jīchǎng yùdào le.
What a coincidence, we met at the airport.
克力 qiǎokèlì chocolate
孩子们都喜欢吃巧克力。
Háizimen dōu xǐhuan chī qiǎokèlì.
Children all like eating chocolate.

Seen in the Real Exams / 真题例句

appears in 9 questions across the 19 mock & official HSK 4 exams on this site. Real exam sentences using it:

我包里有克力,给你。
From Mock Exam 03 →
克力是谁送的?
From Mock Exam 15 →

Tasks Featuring 巧 / 相关任务

Words containing appear in these official HSK 4 task scenarios — study the character in context:

📚 介绍饮食情况
Food & Dining · 巧克力

FAQ

What does 巧 mean in Chinese?

巧 (qiǎo) means skillful, ingenious, clever. It is one of the 441 characters HSK 4 requires you to recognize when reading (认读字).

How many strokes does 巧 have?

巧 is written in 5 strokes. Use the practice tool above to see the correct stroke order and trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 巧?

The radical of 巧 is 工 (labor).

What is the pinyin for 巧?

巧 is pronounced qiǎo.

What HSK 4 words use 巧?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 巧 appears in 2 words, including 巧 (qiǎo), 巧克力 (qiǎokèlì). See the full list above.

qiáo All Characters qiè / qiē →