狡 (jiǎo) is a Chinese character meaning “crafty”. It is written from 犭 (dog / beast radical (side form of 犬)) and 交 (to cross; to hand over; to intersect), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “crafty, sly like a fox”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
犭 + 交
Left–right structure
- 犭 dog / beast radical (side form of 犬) · quǎn meaning
- 交 to cross; to hand over; to intersect · jiāo sound
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：犭 3 画 + 交 6 画 = 9 画）
Memory aid
The beast radical (犭) next to 交 "to cross" — a fox that keeps crossing its own tracks so no one can follow it. Both parts are really in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 狡猾jiǎo huácunning; sly狡 = jiǎo
- 狡诈jiǎo zhàcrafty and deceitful狡 = jiǎo
Go deeper
All readings
crafty
crafty; sly; cunning; deceitful
诡诈；不老实，善于用心机骗人。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 狡猾jiǎo huácunning; sly狡 = jiǎo
- 狡诈jiǎo zhàcrafty and deceitful狡 = jiǎo
Sound component
交 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 狡 mean?
狡 (jiǎo) means crafty; sly; cunning; deceitful.
How do you pronounce 狡?
It is pronounced jiǎo.
What parts is 狡 made of?
犭 (dog / beast radical (side form of 犬)) and 交 (to cross; to hand over; to intersect), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：犭 3 画 + 交 6 画 = 9 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 狡 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 狡?
犬. 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 狡?
Common ones are 狡猾 and 狡诈. The reading of 狡 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.