Chinlingo Chinese character: 交

In the Oracle Bone Script, "交" (jiāo) is a typical pictographic character, as it looks like a person sitting cross-legged.

甲骨文"交（jiāo）"是典型的象形字。其形如一个人两腿交叉而坐。

In modern Chinese, "交" is usually used as a verb and it means "hand in". For example, "交货" (jiāo huò) means "deliver goods", and "交卷" (jiāo juàn) means "hand in an examination paper". In addition, "交" means "associate with somebody" as well. For example, "交谈" (jiāo tán) means "converse; talk with each other"; "交易" means "trade; transaction".

在现代汉语中，"交（jiāo）"常用作动词，表示"付给、付托"，如：单词"交货（jiāo huò）"指的是一方把货物托付或者转让给另一方。 "交卷（jiāo juàn）"：指应考人将试卷提交给主考人。"交（jiāo）"也常用来表示"互相往来联系"，如单词"交谈（jiāo tán）"是指互相谈话、"交易（jiāo yì）"是指买卖关系。

"交" is also used as a component of other characters. For example, "饺" (jiǎo), meaning "dumpling", is a left-right structured character, with "饣" on the left indicating the whole character is related with food and with "交" on the right as a pictophonetic component. "交" and "饺" share the same final, "ao".

"交（jiāo）"也作汉字部件。如汉字"饺（jiǎo）" 指饺子，左右结构，"饣"指事，提示该字与食物有关。而旁边的"交"（jiāo）作为声旁，它的韵母被取用来组合成"饺（jiǎo）"的发音。

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