How to Write 佼 (jiǎo) — Meaning “handsome; beautiful; excellent”

Picture a person (亻) who crosses their arms (交) in a confident, elegant pose. This image of someone looking handsome and excellent helps you remember that 佼 means handsome or outstanding.

Write the left radical 亻 first with a left-falling stroke then a vertical stroke, keeping it narrow. For the right part 交, start with the dot and horizontal, then the left-falling and right-falling strokes, followed by the final crossed strokes; be careful not to make the strokes too wide. Common mistakes include writing the two falling strokes too far apart, which makes the character look unbalanced.

Visually, 佼 has 交 on the right, while 仰 has 卬 and 仲 has 中. In meaning, 佼 means excellent or handsome, 仰 means to look up or admire, and 仲 means middle or second. Their usages are completely different: 佼 describes quality, 仰 describes an action or attitude, and 仲 refers to position or rank.

佼 is not part of the HSK vocabulary but appears in literary or formal writing. It is most common in the word 佼佼者, which means 'the best of the bunch' or 'an outstanding person,' used to praise someone who excels in a group. You might see it in essays, news articles, or speeches describing a top performer.

Common words containing 佼 include: 佼佼者 (jiǎo jiǎo zhě) — an outstanding person; the best of the bunch; 佼好 (jiǎo hǎo) — beautiful; good-looking; 佼美 (jiǎo měi) — beautiful; pretty.