挑 (tiǎo) — (verb) to lift up, to raise (挑帘子 'lift a curtain'); (verb) to provoke, to incite, to stir up (used in 挑衅, 挑战, 挑拨); (verb) to find fault, to point out (挑刺, 挑毛病)
Definition
At HSK 7, 挑 (tiǎo) means 'to provoke or stir up' trouble, disputes, etc. — more neutral than the negative-connotation 怂恿, and stronger than the casual picking of 挑剔.
verb
to lift upto raise (挑帘子 'lift a curtain')to provoketo inciteto stir up (used in 挑衅, 挑战, 挑拨)to find faultto point out (挑刺, 挑毛病)
Easily confused
Examples
- 。Tā yòng mù bàng tiǎo qǐ le lián zi.He lifted the curtain with a wooden stick.
- 。Bú yào gù yì tiǎo qǐ zhēng duān.Don't deliberately stir up disputes.
- 挑。Tā zǒng ài tiǎo bié rén de máo bìng.He always likes to find fault with others.
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.
挑 has 手, meaning hand, and 兆, which gives the sound.
Appears in
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