How to Write 侥 (jiǎo) — Meaning “lucky; by chance”

Imagine a person (亻) walking near a high cliff (尧) and narrowly avoiding a fall—that close call is a "lucky escape." The shape of 尧 looks like a person on a tall mountain peak, which reminds you of the risky situations where luck is involved. This visual helps link the character to its meaning of 'by chance' or 'lucky'.

Pay close attention to the right side 尧: start with the top horizontal stroke, then the long slant hook (like a curved diagonal), followed by a short left-falling stroke, then another horizontal, then a shorter left-falling stroke, and finally a vertical hook at the bottom. A common mistake is to make the slant hook too straight or to mix up the order of the small strokes inside. Also keep the person radical 亻 narrow so the whole character stays balanced.

Visually, 仰 uses the right component 卬 (which means 'to look up'), while 仲 uses 中 (meaning 'middle'). In meaning, 仰 means 'to face upward, admire, or rely on', and 仲 means 'second or middle position'. 侥 is completely different—it means 'lucky' or 'by chance'—so even though all three share the 亻 radical, their right sides and meanings are distinct.

侥 appears most often in the word 侥幸 (jiǎo xìng), meaning 'by luck' or 'fluke', usually with a slightly negative tone, as in relying on luck instead of effort. For example, 侥幸心理 (jiǎo xìng xīn lǐ) describes a "mentality of trusting to luck," often used to criticize risky gambling or shortcuts. The phrase 侥幸逃脱 (jiǎo xìng táo tuō) means 'to escape by a narrow margin', like a lucky escape from punishment or danger.

Common words containing 侥 include: 侥幸 (jiǎo xìng) — by luck; fluke; 侥幸心理 (jiǎo xìng xīn lǐ) — mentality of trusting to luck; hoping for a fluke; 侥幸逃脱 (jiǎo xìng táo tuō) — to escape by a narrow margin; to have a lucky escape.