敲 (qiāo) — to knock, to tap, to strike; (colloquial) to overcharge, to rip off
Definition
敲 means a light, repeated knock or tap — softer than 打 (which can be a real hit). It also means 'rip off' in speech, similar to 宰 (zǎi), but 敲 is far more common.
verb
to knockto tapto strike(colloquial) to overchargeto rip off
Examples
- 。Qǐng qiāo mén zài jìn lái.Please knock before coming in.
- 敲。Tā xǐ huan zài zhuō zi shàng qiāo jié zòu.He likes to tap out a rhythm on the table.
- 敲。Zhè jiā diàn qiāo le wǒ de zhú gàng.This store ripped me off.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
攴攴pūto hit lightly; to tap
Sound part声符shēngfú
高
高gāo敲qiāo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
敲 combines 高, which supplies the sound, with 攴, meaning to hit lightly or tap.
Appears in
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