刁

diāo
#3,627 most
frequent character
artful, wicked

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

刁 is derived from 刀 knife. It first meant shaking or vacillating. From that came tricky or artful, and then wicked.

刁 as a component in other characters

sound1 character
叼

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Same Characters, Different Readings

刁Diao1
surname Diao

Homophones

HSK 6
叼diāo
to hold in the mouth
雕diāo
to carve
雕diāo
to carve

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