Definitions

jiāo (verb) to pour liquid; to water
jiāo (verb) to irrigate
jiāo (verb) to cast (molten metal)

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. Simplified form of .

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

(traditional form ) is a phono-semantic compound, with the water radical on the left indicating the meaning belongs to the realm of liquids, and the component on the right providing its sound. Its basic meaning is to pour liquid over something. This sense directly applies in agriculture to watering crops, irrigating fields, or sprinkling plants. Beyond farming, also describes the industrial process of casting, pouring molten metal or plastic into a mold to shape it.

Etymology Hide

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

Example Sentences Hide

妈妈在花。

Māma zài jiāo huā.

Mom is watering the flowers.

我每天水。

Wǒ měitiān jiāo shuǐ.

I water every day.

他用水菜。

Tā yòng shuǐ jiāo cài.

He waters the vegetables with water.

农民灌田地。

Nóngmín jiāoguàn tiándì.

Farmers irrigate the fields.

夏天需要多水。

Xiàtiān xūyào duō jiāo shuǐ.

In summer, you need to water more.

花的时候要小心。

Jiāo huā de shíhòu yào xiǎoxīn.

Be careful when watering flowers.

他用喷壶阳台上的植物。

Tā yòng pēnhú jiāo yángtái shàng de zhíwù.

He uses a watering can to water the plants on the balcony.

为了保持土壤湿润,我们定期灌花园。

Wèile bǎochí tǔrǎng shīrùn, wǒmen dìngqī jiāoguàn huāyuán.

In order to keep the soil moist, we regularly irrigate the garden.