挑 (tiāo) is a Chinese character meaning “to pick out”. It is written from 扌 (hand (radical form)) and 兆 (omen; a trillion), side by side, and takes 9 strokes. It has a second reading, tiǎo, which turns up in 挑战 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “to pick out; to select”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
扌 + 兆
Left–right structure
Structure from: modern-glyph-decomposition (hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验: 扌3 + 兆6 = 9)
Memory aid
A hand (扌) working through a spread of omens (兆): you turn them over one by one and pick the one you want.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 挑选tiāo xuǎnto pick out; to select; to choose挑 = tiāo
- 挑拣tiāo jiǎnto pick and choose; to be choosy挑 = tiāo
- 挑剔tiāo tipicky; fussy; to nitpick挑 = tiāo
Go deeper
All readings
to pick; to select
to pick out; to select; to be choosy; to carry on a shoulder pole
用手挑选、拣出；也指用肩膀担起东西。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 挑选tiāo xuǎnto pick out; to select; to choose挑 = tiāo
- 挑拣tiāo jiǎnto pick and choose; to be choosy挑 = tiāo
- 挑剔tiāo tipicky; fussy; to nitpick挑 = tiāo
to provoke; to stir up
to provoke; to stir up; to poke or lift something with a pointed object
用细长的东西拨动、挑起；引申为挑起事端、激使对方应战。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 挑战tiǎo zhànto challenge; a challenge挑 = tiǎo
- 挑衅tiǎoxìnto provoke; provocation挑 = tiǎo
Sound component
兆 family diverged
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 挑 mean?
挑 (tiāo) means to pick out; to select; to be choosy; to carry on a shoulder pole.
How do you pronounce 挑?
Its main reading is tiāo. It also has a second reading, tiǎo, which only shows up in certain words such as 挑战 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 挑 sometimes pronounced tiǎo?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 挑战 it is read tiǎo.
What parts is 挑 made of?
扌 (hand (radical form)) and 兆 (omen; a trillion), side by side. The recorded source is: modern-glyph-decomposition (hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验: 扌3 + 兆6 = 9). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 挑 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 挑?
手. 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 挑?
Common ones are 挑选 and 挑拣. The reading of 挑 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.