调 (diào): to adjust, to investigate
调 (diào) is a Chinese character meaning “to adjust, to investigate.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 讠 (semantic) and 周 (phonetic). It ranks #400 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 调 speech. Its radical form 讠 (speech) appears in many related characters such as 认 (rèn, to recognize, to admit), 记 (jì, to remember, to record), 识 (shí, to know, knowledge).
Definitions
- to adjust, to investigate
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 调 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 调
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 调查 | diào chá | investigation | 4 |
| 调整verb | tiáo zhěng | to adjust | 5 |
| 强调verb | qiáng diào | to emphasize (a statement) | 5 |
| 空调noun | kōng tiáo | air conditioning | 3 |
| 协调adjective/verb | xié tiáo | to coordinate | 6 |
| 调节verb | tiáo jié | to adjust | 6 |
| 调动verb | diào dòng | to transfer | 6 |
| 调皮adjective | tiáo pí | naughty | 5 |
| 单调adjective | dān diào | monotonous | 6 |
| 声调noun | shēng diào | tone | 6 |
| 调研verb | diào yán | to investigate and research | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 调情 | tiáo qíng | to flirt |
| 低调 | dī diào | low pitch |
| 调头 | diào tóu | variant of 掉頭|掉头[diao4 tou2] |
| 调味 | tiáo wèi | seasoning |
| 调料 | tiáo liào | condiment |
| 调子 | diào zi | tune |
| 调戏 | tiáo xì | to take liberties with a woman |
| 调度 | diào dù | to dispatch (vehicles, staff etc) |
| 调解 | tiáo jiě | to mediate |
| 调教 | tiáo jiào | to instruct |
| 调换 | diào huàn | to exchange |
| 调配 | diào pèi | to allocate |
| 步调 | bù diào | gait |
| 调频 | tiáo pín | frequency modulation |
| 大调 | dà diào | (music) major key |
调 appears in 100 compound words: 81 as the first character, 19 as the last, and 0 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 调 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (15)
to lure an opponent out; to get rid of an opponent or a problem to achieve one's goal
southern intonation and northern tones; an idiolect or accent with features from more than one language variety
southern intonation and northern tones; an idiolect or accent with features from more than one language variety
Showing 12 of 15 idioms containing 调.
Example Sentences
请调查一下客户投诉的原因，然后给出解决方案。
Qǐng diàochá yíxià kèhù tóusù de yuányīn, ránhòu gěi chū jiějué fāng'àn.
Please investigate the cause of customer complaints and then provide a solution.
业界倡上调基本免税额一成 预算案料难大派糖 吁多照...
yè jiè chàng shàng diào jī běn miǎn shuì é yī chéng yù suàn àn liào nán dà pài táng xū duō zhào . . .
The industry advocates raising the basic tax exemption by 10%, and the budget is expected to be difficult to distribute sugar.
日媒民调:选民投票最重视候选人“是否支持高市”
rì méi mín diào : xuǎn mín tóu piào zuì chóng shì hòu xuǎn rén shì fǒu zhī chí gāo shì
Japanese media poll: Voters vote the most important thing about candidates "whether to support Gao City"
...关税新变局 涉外人士:审慎应对301条款调查
. . . guān shuì xīn biàn jú shè wài rén shì : shěn shèn yīng duì 3 0 1 tiáo kuǎn diào chá
... New changes in tariffs Foreign-related persons: Prudently respond to Section 301 investigations
科学内调成美肤新刚需,肌原光以“产学研”硬实力登...
kē xué nèi diào chéng měi fū xīn gāng xū , jī yuán guāng yǐ chǎn xué yán yìng shí lì dēng . . .
Scientifically Formulated Skincare Emerges as New Beauty Essential; Jiyuan Guang Leads with "Industry-Academia-Research" Strength...
老铺黄金2月28日启动2026年首轮调价;此前周生..
lǎo pù huáng jīn yuè rì qǐ dòng nián shǒu lún diào jiè cǐ qián zhōu shēng . .
Laopu Gold initiated its first price adjustment of 2026 on February 28; previously, Chow Sang Sang...
我可以为你调杯热饮料吗？
Wǒ kěyǐ wèi nǐ diào bēi rèyǐn liào ma?
Can I fix you a hot drink?
她以轻柔的语调说话。
Tā yǐ qīngróu de yǔdiào shuōhuà.
She spoke in soft tones.
钢琴走调了，音色很难听。
Gāngqín zǒudiào le, yīnsè hěn nántīng.
The piano was out of tune; it sounded very bad.
为了调查物价，成立了一个委员会。
Wèile diàochá wùjià, chénglì le yī gè wěiyuánhuì.
A committee was constituted to investigate prices.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 调 (diào) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 调 and 绸?
How many strokes does 调 have?
What is the radical of 调?
What are the components of 调?
What are common words containing 调?
What characters sound the same as 调 (diào)?
Is 调 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 调 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.