Chinese word

教

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiāo

Meaning

  • verbteach

Example

老师会教我们中文。lǎo shī huì jiāo wǒ men zhōng wén

The teacher can teach us Chinese.

Illustration for 教 (teach)

More examples

妈妈每天教我说汉语。mā mā měi tiān jiào wǒ shuō hàn yǔ

Mom teaches me to speak Chinese every day.

Core concept

Place knowledge, skills, or ways of acting into another person's understanding through explanation and example.

Common phrases

  • 教中文jiāo zhōng wén

    teach Chinese

  • 教我jiào wǒ

    teach me

Similar words

学xué: Gain knowledge or skills through personal study and practice.
告诉gào sù: Give someone facts or information by speaking or writing.

Definition in Chinese

向他人传授或示范，使其掌握知识、技能或行为方式。xiàng tā rén chuán shòu huò shì fàn shǐ qí zhǎng wò zhī shí jì néng huò xíng wéi fāng shì

Word origin

教 (jiào, "teach") combines 孝 (xiào, "filial respect") with 攵 (pū, "action"), reflecting an older connection between learning and guiding a person's conduct.

Usage tips

  • Chinese often places the learner immediately after 教 (jiào, "teach"), before the lesson or action being taught, which keeps the teacher, learner, and lesson easy to identify.

Other meanings

  • guideverb
  • educateverb
  • pass onverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word