叫 (jiào) — to be called; to call out; to ask

HSK 1 | verb | used to give one's name, to shout, or to ask someone to do something

hsk-1vocabularya1

叫 (jiào)

叫 is most commonly used to introduce a name: 我叫... (My name is...). It also means to call out or shout, and to tell or ask someone to do something.

Meanings

  1. [verb] To be called, to have the name of (我叫 wǒ jiào = my name is).
  2. [verb] To call out, to shout, to cry out.
  3. [verb] To ask or tell (someone to do something).

Example Sentences

我叫李明，你叫什么名字？ Wǒ jiào Lǐ Míng, nǐ jiào shénme míngzi? My name is Li Ming. What is your name?

她在外面叫你。 Tā zài wàimiàn jiào nǐ. She is calling for you outside.

老师叫我们打开书。 Lǎoshī jiào wǒmen dǎkāi shū. The teacher told us to open our books.

那只狗一直在叫。 Nà zhī gǒu yīzhí zài jiào. That dog keeps barking (calling out).

Collocations

Collocation Meaning
叫什么名字 what is (your/his/her) name
叫做 to be called, known as
大叫 shout loudly
叫出租车 call a taxi
叫人 call someone over
被叫 be called upon

Memory Hook

叫 has the mouth radical (口) on the left, because calling out and naming both happen through the mouth.