Definitions

jiào highest peak

Etymology

A tall mountain  also provides the pronunciation

About

(traditional ) is a phono-semantic compound combining the radical 'mountain, hill' on the left with the phonetic (traditional ) on the right, which itself means 'tall' or 'elevated'. Its primary meaning is 'high mountain', 'peak', or 'pointed summit'. The phonetic provides the pronunciation and also reinforces the idea of height, so the character consistently denotes a lofty peak rather than an ordinary mountain, a distinction found in both geographical and literary contexts.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern