俏

qiào
adjective #11,038

Meanings

  1. 1 good-looking
  2. 2 charming
  3. 3 in great demand (of goods)

Examples

HSK 2
Tā zhǎng de hěn qiào.
She is very good-looking.
HSK 4
Zhè zhǒng shāngpǐn hěn qiào.
This kind of product is in great demand.

Tips

usage
俏 has two main uses: describing someone as attractive (俏丽, pretty), and describing goods that sell well (俏货, hot-selling goods).

Components

radical
亻 rén
person (radical form of 人)
Left person radical - two-stroke side-form of 人, a slim standing figure. As the indexing radical it places 俏 with traits and qualities of people: 仁 benevolent, 优 excellent, 伟 great, 俊 handsome. Good looks and charm are properties of a person, so the radical does literal semantic work.
phonetic
肖 xiào
to resemble
Right 肖 supplies the sound - xiào drifting to qiào via the regular x/q alternation. Same phonetic frames 消 to vanish, 削 to peel, 销 to melt down, 哨 whistle. A faint semantic flavour also fits: a good-looking person is one who 'resembles' the ideal.

Stroke Order

俏 qiào