jiào

to teach

HSK 2

Evolution

教 in oracle script
Oracle Bone · ~1200 BCE
教 in bronze script
Bronze · ~800 BCE
教 in seal script
Seal Script · ~200 BCE
教 in liushutong script
Liushūtong · ~1600 CE
Modern
real etymology

Left side: a child (子) learning counting rods (爻, the X shapes). Right side: a hand holding a stick (攴). Teaching = a child doing math while getting hit. 3,000 years and the oracle bone still looks like a classroom nightmare.

Components

子 ancient form
child
counting rods

Related Characters

Further Reading

25 Characters With Wild EtymologiesGuide

Appears in Stories