How to Write 跤 (jiāo) — Meaning “to trip / fall”

Imagine your foot (足) gets caught on a crossing rope (交) while walking, and you trip and fall. The image of a foot tangled at an intersection helps you recall that 跤 means "to trip" or "fall."

When writing 跤, be careful with the right side 交: start with the top dot, then a horizontal line, then two crossing lines that form an X shape, and finally a slight hook at the bottom. A common mistake is making the bottom part look like 父 (father) — instead, keep the lower strokes open and crossed, not connected to the top.

跤 (jiāo) is the only one among them commonly used for "trip" or "wrestle." 䠀 (chǎng) is a very rare character meaning "to stamp" or "to trample" and almost never appears in modern texts. 趺 (fū) means "to sit cross-legged" or "the instep of the foot," and is used in literary or Buddhist contexts, not for falling.

跤 appears most often in the word 摔跤 (shuāi jiāo), which means "wrestling" as a sport or "to trip and fall." You also see it in 跌一跤 (diē yī jiāo), meaning "to take a fall." Wrestling (摔跤) is a traditional sport in Chinese culture, especially among ethnic groups like the Mongols, where it is a key part of festivals like the Nadam Fair.

Common words containing 跤 include: 摔跤 (shuāi jiāo) — to wrestle; to trip and fall; 跌一跤 (diē yī jiāo) — to take a fall; to trip and fall; 摔跤手 (shuāi jiāo shǒu) — wrestler.