巧 qiǎo — skilful; clever · English

巧

qiǎo

skilful; clever

At a glance · 巧

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

小篆从工，丂声，本义为技艺精好、灵巧。形声清晰。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

本义为技能美好、精巧。

Structure

形声字，从工（意符，工艺），丂（kǎo）为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinqiǎo

Radical工

Strokes5

UnicodeU+5DE7

Character type形声

Theme德行

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English skilful; clever Skilful, clever, or ingenious.

Français habile; adroit Habile, adroit ou ingénieux.

Español hábil; ingenioso Hábil, diestro o ingenioso.

العربية ماهر؛ بارع ماهر أو بارع أو ذكي.

Русский искусный; ловкий Искусный, ловкий или умелый.

Common words

巧qiǎoclever
巧妙qiǎo miàoingenious

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