Chinese word

翘

Pronunciation

Pinyinqiào

Meaning

  • verbcurl up

Example

报纸的角翘了。bào zhǐ de jiǎo qiào le

The corner of the newspaper curled up.

Illustration for 翘 (curl up)

More examples

小狗把尾巴翘起来，表示很高兴。xiáo gǒu bǎ wěi ba qiào qǐ lái biǎo shì hěn gāo xìng

The puppy held its tail up, showing how happy it was.

Core concept

Something that should lie flat, point down, or stay in place lifts at one part and angles upward.

Common phrases

  • 翘起纸角qiào qǐ zhǐ jiǎo

    turn up the corner of a piece of paper

  • 翘起嘴角qiào qǐ zuí jiǎo

    turn up the corners of one's mouth

Similar words

翻fān: Flip a surface over so its underside becomes visible.
掀xiān: Raise something covering an area so the hidden part can be seen.
卷juǎn: Wind into a rounded roll that takes up less space.

Definition in Chinese

表示物体的一部分向上弯起或抬起，常指纸角、布边、嘴角、脚尖等局部向上翻起；在口语中可扩展为表示逃课、逃班等引申义。biǎo shì wù tǐ de yí bù fèn xiàng shàng wān qǐ huò tái qǐ cháng zhǐ zhǐ jiǎo bù biān zuí jiǎo jiǎo jiān děng jú bù xiàng shàng fān qǐ zài kóu yǔ zhōng kě kuò zhǎn wèi biǎo shì táo kè táo bān děng yǐn shēn yì

Word origin

翘 (qiào, "curl upward") combines 羽 (yǔ, "feather"), a meaning component linked to an upturned feather, with 尧 (yáo, "Yao"), a sound component.

Usage tips

  • Chinese can use this verb in both physical descriptions and casual expressions for skipping a class or work shift, a contrast that helps prevent a literal reading of every occurrence.

Other meanings

  • turn upverb
  • lift upverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 翘课qiào kèskip schoolverb
  • 翘首qiáo shǒuwait eagerly with one's head raisedverb

Word lists with this word