How to Write 嘲 (cháo) — Meaning “to ridicule; to mock”

Picture a person standing in the morning sun (朝) opening their mouth (口) to laugh at someone. The left side is the mouth, and the right side is the same as 'morning' (朝), so think of someone saying 'Good morning!' in a sarcastic, mocking voice.

Write the left radical 口 small and high, then the right side 朝: start with 十 (top left), then 早 (top to bottom), making sure the bottom 十 leans slightly left. A common mistake is writing the right side too wide or forgetting the small horizontal stroke in the middle of 早.

㕡 (kè) means 'to bite' or 'sound of gnawing'—it has a different phonetic and is extremely rare. 喿 (zào) means 'noise' or 'chirping' and is used in words like 聒噪 (guō zào). Unlike them, 嘲 specifically means to mock or ridicule and is used in common words like 嘲笑 and 嘲讽.

嘲 is used in formal or written contexts to describe mocking or ridiculing, often in phrases like 嘲笑 (laugh at) or 嘲讽 (sarcastic taunt). It carries a negative tone and is not used in casual joking among friends—it implies deliberate hurtfulness or contempt. For example, '不要嘲笑别人' means 'Don't mock others.'

Common words containing 嘲 include: 嘲笑 (cháo xiào) — to laugh at; to ridicule; 嘲弄 (cháo nòng) — to mock; to tease; 嘲讽 (cháo fěng) — to sneer at; to taunt; to mock.