How to Write 标 (biāo) — Meaning “mark; sign; standard”

Imagine a wooden pole (木) with a bright sign on it that 'shows' (示) the way or a standard. The right side 示 looks like a flag waving from the pole, reminding you that 标 means 'mark' or 'sign'. Think of a 'tree' (木) that 'shows' (示) you where to go.

The stroke order for 标 is left to right: first write the 木 radical (horizontal, vertical, then left and right strokes), then the 示 component (top stroke, then 二 horizontal strokes, then small vertical and right dot). A common mistake is making the 木 radical too wide or forgetting the dot on the right side of 示; keep the left side compact and center the 示 evenly.

标 means 'mark, sign, standard' and has the 示 component, while 杆 (gān/gǎn) means 'pole' or 'stick' and uses 干 (dry/shield) as its phonetic. 杈 (chà) means 'fork (of a tree)' or 'pitchfork' and uses 叉 (fork) as its phonetic. Visually, 标 has more strokes and a clear right-side 示, whereas 杆 and 杈 are simpler and refer to physical objects, not abstract signs.

标 appears in everyday words like 标准 (standard, criterion), 目标 (goal, target), and 标志 (sign, logo). It is especially common in business, education, and daily life — for example, setting a 目标 (goal) or meeting 标准 (standards). Culturally, 标 is also used in phrases like 标点符号 (punctuation marks), showing its role in writing and communication.

Common words containing 标 include: 标准 (biāo zhǔn) — standard; criterion; 目标 (mù biāo) — goal; target; objective; 标志 (biāo zhì) — sign; symbol; logo.