Definition
挑 (tiǎo) means to poke, lift, or stir up — actions that involve using a pointed object to move or provoke something. It differs from 刺 (cì 'to stab'), which implies piercing into something deeply. As 'to stir up,' it is similar to 煽动 (shān dòng 'to incite') but 挑 is more concrete and often used with physical objects or direct actions.
verb
to poketo prickto raiseto lift (with a pole)to inciteto stir up
Easily confused
- 跳tiàolook-aliketo jump; to hop; to bounce; to skip over
- 条tiáosound-alike(classifier) used for long, thin objects (rivers, roads, trousers, fish, etc.)
- 桃táolook-alikepeach
- 调tiáosound-aliketo adjust, to tune (a device, instrument, etc.)
- 逃táolook-aliketo escape; to flee; to run away
Examples
- 挑。Tā yòng gùnzi tiǎo le yí xià huǒ.He poked the fire with a stick.
- 挑。Wūdǐng shàng tiǎo zhe yí miàn hóngqí.A red flag is raised on the roof.
- 。Tā shìtú tiǎo qǐ wǒmen de máodùn.He tried to stir up conflict between us.
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