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调侃 (tiáo kǎn) — to tease playfully, to make fun of (in a light-hearted way); to ridicule (mildly, with humor)

Definition

调侃 is light-hearted, witty teasing — warmer and more playful than 嘲笑 or 嘲弄 (both mean 'to mock/ridicule' and carry a negative edge), and broader than 逗, which focuses on playful provocation for fun.

verb
to tease playfullyto make fun of (in a light-hearted way)to ridicule (mildly, with humor)

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā xǐ huan zài jù huì shàng tiáo kǎn zì jǐ, dòu dà jiā kāi xīn.
    He likes to tease himself at parties to make everyone laugh.
  • 调侃。
    Péng you zhī jiān hù xiāng tiáo kǎn shì hěn zhèng cháng de shì.
    It's very normal for friends to tease each other.
  • 调侃，。
    Tā de wén zhāng chōng mǎn le duì shí shì de tiáo kǎn, dú qǐ lái hěn yǒu qù.
    His articles are full of playful jabs at current events, making them very interesting to read.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

调tiáojest
侃kǎnchat

调 suggests playful talk or jest, and 侃 suggests chatting, so the word means light teasing or mocking.

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

Open 侃 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Communication & Speech

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