窍 (qiào): opening, knack
窍 (qiào) is a Chinese character meaning “opening, knack.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 穴 (semantic) and 巧 (phonetic). It ranks #2757 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 窍 hole. Its radical form 穴 (cave) appears in many related characters such as 穿 (chuān, to wear, 穿透), 空 (kōng, empty, sky), 突 (tū, sudden).
Definitions
- opening, knack
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 窍 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 诀窍noun | jué qiào | secret |
| 一窍不通phrase | yī qiào bù tōng | lit. doesn't (even) enter a single aperture (of one's head) |
| 窍门noun | qiào mén | a trick |
| 开窍verb | kāi qiào | to get it straight |
| 鬼迷心窍phrase | guǐ mí xīn qiào | to be obsessed |
| 财迷心窍phrase | cái mí xīn qiào | mad about money (idiom) |
| 心窍noun | xīn qiào | the mind |
| 七窍noun | qī qiào | the seven apertures of the human head: 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 nostrils, 1 mouth |
| 七窍生烟 | qī qiào shēng yān | lit. spouting smoke through the seven orifices (idiom) |
| 不开窍 | bù kāi qiào | unable to understand |
| 窍门儿noun | qiào mén r | erhua form of 竅門|窍门 |
| 灵魂出窍verb | líng hún chū qiào | out-of-body experience |
| 九窍 | jiǔ qiào | nine orifices of the human body (eyes, nostrils, ears, mouth, urethra, anus) |
窍 appears in 13 compound words: 15 as the first character, 69 as the last, and 15 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 窍 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (4)
mad about money; greedy to such an extent that one's rationality is obstructed
to be possessed by a spirit and lose one's thinking ability; to be (unreasonably) obsessed with something
lit. spouting smoke through the seven orifices (idiom); fig. to seethe with anger
mad about money; greedy to such an extent that one's rationality is obstructed
to be possessed by a spirit and lose one's thinking ability; to be (unreasonably) obsessed with something
lit. spouting smoke through the seven orifices (idiom); fig. to seethe with anger
Example Sentences
做这件事有窍门，掌握了方法就很简单。
Zuò zhè jiàn shì yǒu qiàomén, zhǎngwò le fāngfǎ jiù hěn jiǎndān.
There's a knack to doing this; once you master the method, it's very simple.
...! #生活小妙招 #生活小技巧 #生活小窍门 #生活小常识
. . . ! shēng huó xiǎo miào zhāo shēng huó xiǎo jì qiǎo shēng huó xiǎo qiào mén shēng huó xiǎo cháng shí
...! #LifeHacks #LifeTips #LifeTricks #LifeHacks
保温瓶、冷气、浴室怎么清?居家精油除霉诀窍
bǎo wēn píng , lěng qì , yù shì zěn má qīng ? jū jiā jīng yóu chú méi jué qiào
How to Clean Thermoses, Air Conditioners, and Bathrooms? Tips for Removing Mold with Essential Oils at Home
元宵节汤圆怎么煮?不破皮软糯Q弹小窍门
yuán xiāo jié tāng yuán zěn má zhǔ ? bù pò pí ruǎn 糯 Q dàn xiǎo qiào mén
How to Cook Tangyuan for the Lantern Festival? Tips for Keeping Them Soft, Chewy, and Bouncy Without the Skin Breaking
鬼迷心窍要当心!3星座马年容易上当...狮子投资...
guǐ mí xīn qiào yāo dāng xīn ! xīng zuò mǎ nián róng yì shàng dāng . . . shī zǐ tóu zī . . .
Be careful! 3 zodiac signs are easy to be fooled in the Year of the Horse... Lion Investments...
...26妆容关键字 妆前急救“5分钟小脸”诀窍公开
. . . zhuāng róng guān jiàn zì zhuāng qián jí jiù fēn zhōng xiǎo liǎn jué qiào gōng kāi
26 Makeup Keywords Revealing the "5-Minute Face-Slimming" Trick for Last-Minute Makeup Rescue
我把亚当的手表弄坏了，气得他七窍生烟。
Wǒ bǎ Yàdāng de shǒubiǎo nònghuài le, qì de tā qīqiàoshēngyān.
Adam was furious with me when I broke his watch.
我对此一窍不通。
Wǒ duì cǐ yīqiàobùtōng.
This is Greek to me.
罗素是一个极出色的哲学家，可是他对日常生活中的事务却是一窍不通。
Luósù shì yī gè jí chūsè de zhéxuéjiā, kěshì tā duì Rì cháng shēnghuó zhōng de shìwù quèshì yīqiàobùtōng.
Russell was a brilliant philosopher, but even the simplest practical task was quite beyond him.
在处理资料上，他很有天赋。但编写代码的话，只能说一窍不通。
Zài chǔlǐ zīliào shàng, tā hěn yǒu tiānfù. dàn biānxiě dàimǎ dehuà, zhǐnéng shuō yīqiàobùtōng.
With data, he's a genius. But with code -- complete numbskull.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 穴 (hole) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 窍 (qiào) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 窍 have?
What is the radical of 窍?
What are the components of 窍?
What are common words containing 窍?
What characters sound the same as 窍 (qiào)?
Is 窍 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 窍 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.