字Study Chinese Characters
交

jiāo to hand over; to cross

6 strokes

交 (jiāo) is a Chinese character meaning “to hand over”. It is written from 亠 (lid) and 八 (eight) and 乂 (crossing strokes), and takes 6 strokes.

Build the character for “to hand over; to cross”

Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.

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Learn this character

Structure

亠 + 八 + 乂

Top–middle–bottom structure

  • 亠 lid · tóu unknown
  • 八 eight · bā unknown
  • 乂 crossing strokes unknown

Structure from: 现代字形拆分，按 hanzi-writer-data 笔画逐笔核验（亠2 + 八2 + 乂2 = 6 笔）

Memory aid

Under a lid (亠), two strokes split apart (八), and below them two more strokes cross each other (乂). Lines that meet and cross — that is 交.

This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.

Stroke order

6 strokes

In real words

  • 交通jiāo tōngtraffic; transportation交 = jiāo
  • 交叉jiāo chāto cross; to intersect; crisscross交 = jiāo
  • 交易jiāo yìtransaction; deal; to trade交 = jiāoHSK 5
  • 呈交chéng jiāoto submit; to hand in (respectfully)交 = jiāo
  • 邦交bāng jiāodiplomatic relations between states交 = jiāo
  • 交换jiāo huànto exchange; to swap交 = jiāo
  • 交流jiāo liúto exchange; to communicate; exchange交 = jiāo
Go deeper

All readings

jiāo main reading

to hand over; to cross

to hand over; to deliver; to cross or intersect; to associate with; dealings between people

把东西给对方；互相交错、相交；也指人与人之间的往来。 — studyhanzi 编写

Words with this reading

  • 交通jiāo tōngtraffic; transportation交 = jiāo
  • 交叉jiāo chāto cross; to intersect; crisscross交 = jiāo
  • 交易jiāo yìtransaction; deal; to trade交 = jiāoHSK 5
  • 呈交chéng jiāoto submit; to hand in (respectfully)交 = jiāo
  • 邦交bāng jiāodiplomatic relations between states交 = jiāo
  • 交换jiāo huànto exchange; to swap交 = jiāo
  • 交流jiāo liúto exchange; to communicate; exchange交 = jiāo

Other characters with these parts

亠 → 亢亥亦产亩充六市

八 → 公六共兴兵其具典

乂 → 丈义冈凶区卤史希

Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions

Questions people ask about this character

What does 交 mean?

交 (jiāo) means to hand over; to deliver; to cross or intersect; to associate with; dealings between people.

How do you pronounce 交?

It is pronounced jiāo.

What parts is 交 made of?

亠 (lid) and 八 (eight) and 乂 (crossing strokes). The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，按 hanzi-writer-data 笔画逐笔核验（亠2 + 八2 + 乂2 = 6 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.

How many strokes does 交 have?

6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 交?

亠. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.

What words use 交?

Common ones are 交通 and 交叉. The reading of 交 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.