校 (xiào) is a Chinese character meaning “school”. It is written from 木 (tree; wood) and 交 (to cross; to hand over; to intersect), side by side, and takes 10 strokes. It has a second reading, jiào, which turns up in 校对 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “school”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
木 + 交
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 校，木囚也。从木交声；现代字形拆分经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验（木4画 + 交6画 = 10画）
Memory aid
Wooden posts (木) where people cross paths and meet (交) — the yard of a school, where everyone comes together.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 学校xué xiàoschool校 = xiàoHSK 1
- 校长xiào zhǎngprincipal; headmaster校 = xiàoHSK 3
Go deeper
All readings
school
school; (military) field officer
学校；也指军衔中的校级军官。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 学校xué xiàoschool校 = xiàoHSK 1
- 校长xiào zhǎngprincipal; headmaster校 = xiàoHSK 3
to check; to proofread
to check; to proofread; to compare
订正；比较核对。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 校对jiào duìto proofread校 = jiào
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 校 mean?
校 (xiào) means school; (military) field officer.
How do you pronounce 校?
Its main reading is xiào. It also has a second reading, jiào, which only shows up in certain words such as 校对 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 校 sometimes pronounced jiào?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 校对 it is read jiào.
What parts is 校 made of?
木 (tree; wood) and 交 (to cross; to hand over; to intersect), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 校，木囚也。从木交声；现代字形拆分经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验（木4画 + 交6画 = 10画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 校 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 校?
木. 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 校?
Common ones are 学校 and 校长. The reading of 校 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.