雕 (diāo): to carve, to engrave, shrewd
雕 (diāo) is a Chinese character meaning “to carve.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 周 (phonetic) and 隹 (semantic). It ranks #1812 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 雕 bird. Its radical form 隹 (short-tailed bird) appears in many related characters such as 难 (nán, difficult (to...)), 集 (jí, to gather), 雄 (xióng, male).
Definitions
- to carve
- to engrave
- shrewd
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 雕 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 雕像 | diāo xiàng | sculpture |
| 雕塑 | diāo sù | a statue |
| 雕刻 | diāo kè | to carve |
| 冰雕 | bīng diāo | ice sculpture |
| 雕琢 | diāo zhuó | to sculpt |
| 雕刻家 | diāo kè jiā | sculptor |
| 雕虫小技 | diāo chóng xiǎo jì | insignificant talent |
| 浮雕 | fú diāo | relief sculpture |
| 雕花 | diāo huā | carving |
| 石雕 | shí diāo | stone carving |
| 精雕细琢 | jīng diāo xì zhuó | see 精雕細刻|精雕细刻[jing1 diao1 xi4 ke4] |
| 雕版 | diāo bǎn | a carved printing block |
| 雕刻品 | diāo kè pǐn | sculpture |
| 雕饰 | diāo shì | to carve |
| 雕梁画栋 | diāo liáng huà dòng | richly ornamented (building) |
雕 appears in 64 compound words: 36 as the first character, 52 as the last, and 13 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 雕 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (7)
lit. fine sculpting (idiom); fig. to work (at sth) with extreme care and precision
lit. one arrow, two golden eagles (idiom); to kill two birds with one stone
lit. fine sculpting (idiom); fig. to work (at sth) with extreme care and precision
lit. one arrow, two golden eagles (idiom); to kill two birds with one stone
Example Sentences
学习雕字需要反复练习，才能写得工整。
xué xí diāo zì xū yāo fǎn fù liàn xí , cái néng xiě dé gōng zhěng .
Mastering calligraphy requires repeated practice to achieve neat and precise writing.
湘居藏工巧 刀笔蕴匠心——赏湘南木雕工艺之美
湘 jū zàng gōng qiǎo dāo bǐ yùn jiàng xīn — — shǎng 湘 nán mù diāo gōng yì zhī měi
Hunan Homes: A Treasure Trove of Artistry; Carving and Painting: A Testament to Craftsmanship—Appreciating the Beauty of Wood Carving in Southern Hunan
...岁托尼贾近况,抗癌后瘦到脱相,却在李小龙雕像前打出凌厉功夫
. . . suì tuō ní gǔ jìn kuàng , kàng ái hòu shòu dào tuō xiāng , què zài lǐ xiǎo lóng diāo xiàng qián dǎ chū líng lì gōng fū
...The latest on Tony Jaa: After battling cancer, he's lost so much weight he's barely recognizable, yet he still puts on a fierce martial arts display in front of the Bruce Lee statue.
...溪3盏20尺大型福马主灯飞上天 天灯节光雕秀炫目
. . . xī 3 zhǎn 2 0 chǐ dà xíng fú mǎ zhǔ dēng fēi shàng tiān tiān dēng jié guāng diāo xiù xuàn mù
... 3 20-foot large Fuma main lights flew into the sky The sky lantern festival light mapping show was dazzling
颜玉君:走出课室,倾听玛美里族雕刻背后的故事
yán yù jūn : zǒu chū kè shì , qīng tīng 玛 měi lǐ zú diāo kè bèi hòu de gù shì
Yan Yujun: Step out of the classroom and listen to the story behind the Mameli carvings
米兰大教堂雕像 赞助修复便可有条件借展
mǐ lán dà jiào táng diāo xiàng zàn zhù xiū fù biàn kě yǒu tiáo jiàn jiè zhǎn
Statues of Milan Cathedral can be loaned conditionally if they sponsor the restoration
忠犬八公的雕像伫立在涩谷站前。
Zhōng quǎn Bāgōng de diāoxiàng zhùlì zài Sègǔ zhàn qián.
The statue of Hachiko, the faithful dog, stands in front of Shibuya Station.
这座雕像和真人的尺寸一样。
Zhè zuò diāoxiàng hé zhēnrén de chǐcun yīyàng.
This statue is as large as life.
创校人的雕像在大学校园的中心矗立着。
Chuāng xiào rén de diāoxiàng zài dàxué xiàoyuán de zhōngxīn chùlì zhe.
In the center of the university campus stands the statue of the founder.
我们用木材做雕像。
Wǒmen yòng mùcái zuò diāoxiàng.
We made statues out of wood.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 雕 (diāo) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 雕 and 绸?
How many strokes does 雕 have?
What is the radical of 雕?
What are the components of 雕?
What are common words containing 雕?
What characters sound the same as 雕 (diāo)?
Is 雕 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 雕 with real-time feedback
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