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How to Write 胶 (jiāo) — Meaning “glue; gum; rubber”

jiāo HSK Level 5 10 strokes Radical: 月

胶 (jiāo) means "glue; gum; rubber" in Chinese. It has 10 strokes with the radical 月, and is HSK Level 5.

Rated 4.2/5 in difficulty (advanced).

Harder than 89% of HSK Level 5 characters.

Appears in 3+ common words including 胶水 (jiāo shuǐ), 胶带 (jiāo dài), 橡胶 (xiàng jiāo).

Due to its 10 strokes, Hanzi Writer's error detection shows 胶 requires focused practice — most learners need 10+ attempts for consistent accuracy.

Stroke order practice for 胶 - jiāo

Practice Writing 胶 (jiāo)

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How to Write 胶

The character 胶 (jiāo) is written with 10 strokes. Follow the standard Chinese stroke order: top to bottom, left to right, outside before inside. The radical 月 is one of its key components.

Practice the correct stroke order with the Hanzi Writer app to see animated stroke-by-stroke guidance with real-time feedback.

What Does jiāo (胶) Mean in Chinese?

胶 means glue; gum; rubber.

As an HSK Level 5 character, 胶 is an intermediate-level character.

Character Data

Character胶
Pinyinjiāo (jiao)
Meaningglue; gum; rubber
Strokes10
Radical月
HSK Level5
Difficulty4.2/5

Origin of 胶

The character 胶 is a compound of the radical 月 (flesh/meat) and the phonetic component 交 (jiāo, meaning to cross or mix). Ancient glue was often made by boiling animal hides and bones, so the flesh radical reflects the material source, while 交 hints at the process of mixing or binding things together.

💡 Memory Tip: Imagine a piece of flesh (月) being crossed and bonded (交) with sticky glue that holds it together.

Common Words with 胶

胶水 jiāo shuǐ
glue
胶带 jiāo dài
adhesive tape
橡胶 xiàng jiāo
rubber

Example Sentences

我用胶水粘信封。

wǒ yòng jiāo shuǐ zhān xìn fēng

I use glue to seal the envelope.

胶带在桌子上。

jiāo dài zài zhuō zi shàng

The tape is on the table.

橡胶可以做鞋底。

xiàng jiāo kě yǐ zuò xié dǐ

Rubber can be used to make shoe soles.

Similar Characters Comparison

Character Pinyin Strokes Radical
胶 (current) jiāo 10 月
朊 ruǎn 8 月
朋 péng 8 月
服 fú / fù 8 月
Stroke order practice for 胶 - jiāo

Practice Writing 胶 (jiāo)

Open Hanzi Writer to see the animated stroke order and practice writing 胶 with real-time feedback.

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Frequently Asked Questions about 胶

The left side is 月, the moon radical, but in this character it represents flesh or body parts (a variant of 肉). The right side is 交 (jiāo), which gives the sound and hints at connection or crossing. Together, they suggest something from the body (like animal hide) that is processed into a sticky substance used for bonding, which is glue.

More HSK Level 5 Characters

慰wèi岸àn摩mó拔bá拜bài版bǎn扮bàn棒bàng怨yuàn悲bēi辈bèi鼻bí彼bǐ幕mù辑jí宾bīn饼bǐng毒dú玻bō璃lí

Characters with Radical 月

月yuè有yǒu朊ruǎn朋péng服fú/fù朐qú朔shuò朕zhèn朗lǎng望wàng

Other 10-Stroke Characters

㢆chán㼌yǔ䍃yóu丵zhuó乘chéng/shèng亳bó俯fǔ俱jù俳pái俸fèng