How to Write 乔 (qiáo) — Meaning “tall; stately; (a surname)”

Picture a tall person (the top stroke like a head) standing with arms stretched out (the top horizontal line) above a small child (夭, meaning "young"). This image of a tall figure over a little one helps you recall that 乔 means "tall" or "stately."

The stroke order is: left-falling stroke (丿), then horizontal, then a left-falling and right-falling for 夭, followed by two dots. Make sure the top stroke is long and straight, and the lower part (夭) is centered and compact; a common mistake is making the upper part too short or the lower part too wide.

乔 (qiáo) means "tall" and has a top stroke over 夭; 丹 (dān) means "red" or "cinnabar" and looks like a box with a dot inside; 乌 (wū) means "crow" or "black" and is like 鸟 without the dot. Visually, 乔 has a slanting top stroke, while 丹 is squarish and 乌 has a bird-like structure.

乔 is most common as a surname, but it appears in words like 乔迁 (qiáo qiān) for moving to a better home, carrying a celebratory meaning. 乔木 (qiáo mù) refers to tall trees like oaks, and 乔装 (qiáo zhuāng) means "disguise" (literally "tall dress"). In culture, 乔迁 is often used in housewarming greetings.

Common words containing 乔 include: 乔迁 (qiáo qiān) — move to a new house; promotion; 乔木 (qiáo mù) — arbor; tall tree; 乔装 (qiáo zhuāng) — disguise; pretend.