Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.
窍qiàohole
穴cave · xuéMeaning part
巧skillful · qiǎoSound part
穴 hints at the meaning (cave); 巧 (qiǎo) hints at the sound. Compare it with qiào.
门méngate; door; doorway; gateway; opening
门 is a single shape of 3 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.
Memory aidSimplified from 門, drawn from a gate with two doors.
How to write 窍门
窍 10 strokes · 门 3 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 窍门 (qiàomén). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
窍门 (qiàomén) means “knack” or “trick”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it qiàomén: qiào with a 4th tone, then mén with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 窍门 is written 竅門. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type qiaomen with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 窍门 from the suggestions. Typing qiaomen into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
窍门 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.
窍qiào4th tone, falling
门mén2nd tone, rising
