叫

呌

jiào

丩 + 口

HSK 2.0Level 1

HSK 3.0Level 1

Definitions

jiào (verb) to call; to be called

jiào (verb) to shout; to yell

jiào (verb) to order; to tell (someone to do something)

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 丩 represents the sound.

Semantic: 口 Phonetic: 丩

About

叫 is a phono-semantic compound: the semantic radical 口 (mouth) on the left signals speech or vocalization, and the phonetic component 丩 on the right gives the sound. Its primary meaning is 'to shout' or 'to call out', reflecting a forceful use of the voice. This extended to calling someone by a name, naming things, or ordering someone to act. It is also commonly used as a preposition in passive constructions to mark the agent.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我的名字叫小明。

Wǒ de míngzì jiào Xiǎo Míng.

My name is Xiao Ming.

请叫我老师。

Qǐng jiào wǒ lǎoshī.

Please call me teacher.

你叫什么名字？

Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì?

What is your name?

不要大声叫我。

Bùyào dàshēng jiào wǒ.

Don't call me loudly.

他叫我帮忙买东西。

Tā jiào wǒ bāngmáng mǎi dōngxi.

He asked me to help buy things.

妈妈叫弟弟早点睡觉。

Māma jiào dìdi zǎo diǎn shuìjiào.

Mom told younger brother to sleep early.

老板叫我们完成报告。

Lǎobǎn jiào wǒmen wánchéng bàogào.

The boss told us to complete the report.

这件事叫我想起了过去。

Zhè jiàn shì jiào wǒ xiǎngqǐle guòqù.

This matter reminds me of the past.

Related Characters

Component: 丩

Component: 口

叫