调笑 (tiáo xiào) — to tease, to make fun of

Definition

调笑 (tiáo xiào) means to tease or make light fun of someone in a playful, often flirtatious way — lighter and more literary than the everyday 取笑 or 开玩笑.

verb
to teaseto make fun of

Examples

  • 调笑，。
    Tā xǐ huan tiáo xiào bié rén, dàn dà jiā bìng bù shēng qì.
    He likes to tease others, but no one gets angry.
  • 调笑，。
    Bú yào tiáo xiào tā de kǒu yīn, nà yàng hěn bù lǐ mào.
    Don't make fun of her accent; that's very impolite.
  • 调笑，。
    Tā men hù xiāng tiáo xiào, qì fen hěn qīng sōng.
    They teased each other, and the atmosphere was very relaxed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

调tiáotease
笑xiàolaugh at

调 means to tease and 笑 means to laugh at, so the word describes mocking someone.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 調; 调 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
周
周zhōu調tiáo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 調 pairs 言 (speech) with 周, which shows how it was pronounced. The simplified 调 is a later shorthand.

Open 调 →

Most 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
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
艸
艸cǎo笑xiào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

An early 笑 used the grass 艸 for the sound and the dog 犬 for the meaning; later it was written with 竹 and 夭.

Open 笑 →

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