侨 (qiáo) is a Chinese character meaning “to live abroad while keeping one's home nationality”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 乔 (tall; the sound part of 侨, 桥, 娇, 骄), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to live abroad”
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Structure
亻 + 乔
Left–right structure
- 亻 person (the form 人 takes on the left) · rén meaning
- 乔 tall; the sound part of 侨, 桥, 娇, 骄 · qiáo sound
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（亻2 + 乔6 = 8）+ 读音比对：乔 qiáo → 侨 qiáo；繁体「僑」见说文解字「从人喬聲」
Memory aid
A person (亻) who has gone tall and far away (乔) — someone living abroad. 乔 is also exactly how this character sounds: qiáo.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 华侨huá qiáooverseas Chinese侨 = qiáo
- 侨民qiáo mínexpatriate residents; nationals living abroad侨 = qiáo
Go deeper
All readings
to live abroad
to live abroad while keeping one's home nationality; used of expatriate communities, as in 华侨 (overseas Chinese)
旅居国外；也指旅居国外的人，如「华侨」「侨民」。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 华侨huá qiáooverseas Chinese侨 = qiáo
- 侨民qiáo mínexpatriate residents; nationals living abroad侨 = qiáo
Sound component
乔 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 侨 mean?
侨 (qiáo) means to live abroad while keeping one's home nationality; used of expatriate communities, as in 华侨 (overseas Chinese).
How do you pronounce 侨?
It is pronounced qiáo.
What parts is 侨 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 乔 (tall; the sound part of 侨, 桥, 娇, 骄), side by side. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（亻2 + 乔6 = 8）+ 读音比对：乔 qiáo → 侨 qiáo；繁体「僑」见说文解字「从人喬聲」. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 侨 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 侨?
人. 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 侨?
Common ones are 华侨 and 侨民. The reading of 侨 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.