挑

2 readings · tap one to hear it

to carry on a shoulder pole; to choose; to pick; to nitpick

Sound it out + + = · + + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

扌 meaning “hand” + 兆 sound ( zhào )

Components 扌兆

foment · Heisig RSH #1847

fingers + 兆 portent

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

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

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
鸡蛋里挑骨头	jī dàn li tiāo gǔ tou	to look for bones in an egg; to find fault; to nitpick (idiom)
百里挑一	bǎi lǐ tiāo yī	one in a hundred; cream of the crop
挑头儿	tiǎo tóu r	erhua variant of 挑頭\|挑头[tiao3 tou2]
高挑子	gāo tiǎo zi	tall person
挑战者号	Tiǎo zhàn zhě Hào	Space Shuttle Challenger
挑山工	tiāo shān gōng	laborers who carry cargo up and down the mountains on shoulder poles
挑花眼	tiǎo huā yǎn	(fig.) to get cross-eyed; to be bewildered
挑战者	tiǎo zhàn zhě	challenger
挑口板	tiāo kǒu bǎn	fascia; eaves board
挑毛病	tiāo máo bìng	to nitpick; petty criticism; to nag
目挑心招	mù tiǎo xīn zhāo	the eye incites, the heart invites (idiom); flirtatious; making eyes at sb
挑灯夜战	tiǎo dēng yè zhàn	to raise a lantern and fight at night (idiom); fig. to work into the night; to burn the mi…
剃头挑子一头热	tì tóu tiāo zi yī tóu rè	lit. only one end of the barber's pole is hot (idiom); fig. one-sided enthusiasm; one part…
精挑细选	jīng tiāo xì xuǎn	to select very carefully
挑子	tiāo zi	carrying pole and its load
千挑万选	qiān tiāo wàn xuǎn	to select very carefully
挑头	tiǎo tóu	to take the lead; to be first to (do sth); to pioneer
挑动	tiǎo dòng	to entice; to arouse; to provoke
挑花	tiǎo huā	cross-stitch (embroidery)
挑高	tiāo gāo	(architecture) high-ceilinged; to raise (a ceiling) to a height of; ceiling height

Characters sharing the sound component 兆 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
兆 sound part	zhào	omen; mega-, million
跳	tiào	to hop, to skip; to jump, to leap; to vault; to dance
桃	táo	peach; marriage; surname
逃	táo	to abscond, to dodge, to escape, to flee
姚	yáo	handsome, elegant, attractive; surname
洮	táo	to cleanse; a river in Gansu province
眺	tiào	to gaze, to look at; to scan, to survey
窕	tiǎo	slender; quiet, modest; charming
铫	yáo	hoe; spear; surname
珧	yáo	mother-of-pearl
晁	cháo	morning, dawn; surname
祧	tiāo	ancestral hall
鼗	táo	small revolving drum with knobs