叫 (jiào) is a Chinese character meaning “to shout”. It is written from 口 (mouth) and 丩 (twining; two lines hooked together), side by side, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “to shout; to call”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
口 + 丩
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字·口部：叫，嘑也。从口，丩聲
Memory aid
A mouth (口) on the left, and 丩 on the right — two lines hooked and twisting together. Your voice leaves the mouth and twists all the way across the room: you are calling someone.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 大叫dà jiàoto shout loudly; to cry out叫 = jiào
- 号叫háo jiàoto howl; to wail叫 = jiào
- 吼叫hǒu jiàoto roar; to howl叫 = jiào
- 咕咕叫gū gū jiàoto rumble (of a stomach); to cluck (of a hen)叫 = jiào
- 狗叫gǒu jiàoa dog barks; barking of a dog叫 = jiào
Go deeper
All readings
to shout; to call
to shout; to cry out; to call; to be called (by a name); to tell someone to do something
发出较大的声音；呼喊。也表示称呼、名字是，或让某人做某事。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 大叫dà jiàoto shout loudly; to cry out叫 = jiào
- 号叫háo jiàoto howl; to wail叫 = jiào
- 吼叫hǒu jiàoto roar; to howl叫 = jiào
- 咕咕叫gū gū jiàoto rumble (of a stomach); to cluck (of a hen)叫 = jiào
- 狗叫gǒu jiàoa dog barks; barking of a dog叫 = jiào
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 叫 mean?
叫 (jiào) means to shout; to cry out; to call; to be called (by a name); to tell someone to do something.
How do you pronounce 叫?
It is pronounced jiào.
What parts is 叫 made of?
口 (mouth) and 丩 (twining; two lines hooked together), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字·口部：叫，嘑也。从口，丩聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 叫 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 叫?
口. 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 叫?
Common ones are 大叫 and 号叫. The reading of 叫 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.