挑

Meaningtiāo(verb)

to carry on a shoulder pole; to choose; to pick; to nitpick

Examples

• 你帮我挑一件衣服吧。

  nǐ bāng wǒ tiāo yí jiàn yī fu ba.

  Help me pick out some clothes.

• 他吃饭很挑。

  tā chī fàn hěn tiāo.

  He's a very picky eater.

• 老人挑着两桶水回家。

  lǎo rén tiāo zhe liǎng tǒng shuǐ huí jiā.

  The old man carried two buckets of water home on a pole.

Easily confused

• 选 — 选 is neutral and more formal; 挑 is colloquial, picking carefully.

Written with AI, waiting for a teacher's review.

Meaningtiǎo(verb)

to raise; to dig up; to poke; to prick; to incite; to stir up

Common: 挑战 (challenge), 挑衅 (provoke).

Examples

• 这是一项很有挑战的工作。

  zhè shì yí xiàng hěn yǒu tiǎo zhàn de gōng zuò.

  This is a very challenging job.

• 别在他们中间挑事。

  bié zài tā men zhōng jiān tiāo shì.

  Don't stir up trouble between them.

• 她用针把手上的刺挑了出来。

  tā yòng zhēn bǎ shǒu shàng de cì tiāo le chū lái.

  She picked the splinter out of her hand with a needle.

Written with AI, waiting for a teacher's review.