刁

Tap the pinyin to hear it

artful; wicked

Sound it out + + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

wily · Heisig RSH #2814

clothes hanger + a drop of

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
百般刁难	bǎi bān diāo nàn	(idiom) to put up innumerable obstacles; to create all kinds of difficulties
石刁柏	shí diāo bǎi	asparagus
刁民	diāo mín	(derogatory) unruly people
放刁	fàng diāo	to act wickedly; to bully; to make life difficult for sb by unreasonable actions
刁难	diāo nàn	to be hard on sb; to deliberately make things difficult; Taiwan pr. [diao1nan2]
刁斗	diāo dǒu	soldier's copper saucepan, used for cooking food by day and for sounding the night watches…
刁滑	diāo huá	artful; crafty
刁妇	diāo fù	shrew; virago
刁钻	diāo zuān	crafty; tricky
刁蛮	diāo mán	crafty and unruly
刁悍	diāo hàn	cunning and fierce

These characters use 刁 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
刁 sound part	diāo	tricky, sly, crafty, cunning
叼	diāo	to hold in the mouth