TongTong
Sign in

交给 (jiāo gěi) — to hand over to, to give to (someone)

Definition

A verb-preposition combo meaning 'to hand over to / entrust to' someone, paired with 把 before the thing and a person/team as the object of 给 (e.g. 把作业交给老师). It emphasizes transfer of responsibility, not just delivery.

verb
to hand over toto give to (someone)

Examples

  • 交给。
    Qǐng nǐ bǎ zhè fēng xìn jiāo gěi tā.
    Please hand this letter to him.
  • 交给。
    Tā bǎ zuò yè jiāo gěi lǎo shī hòu jiù zǒu le.
    She left as soon as she handed the homework to the teacher.
  • 交给。
    Rèn wu yǐ jīng jiāo gěi le wǒ men zǔ.
    The task has already been assigned to our group.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

交jiāohand over
给gěigive

“交” (hand over) and “给” (give) combine to mean hand something to someone.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

交 originally drew a human with crossed legs. In the modern shape, the upper part resembles a standing person.

Open 交 →

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 給; 给 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
合
合hé給gěi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 給 uses 糸 (silk) for meaning and 合 for sound, and its old sense was rich, abundant, perhaps referring to precious silk; 给 is a later simplified form.

Open 给 →
Appears in
2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.