骄傲 (jiāoào) — proud / arrogant

骄傲 (jiāoào)

骄傲 carries two contrasting meanings depending on context. Used with 为 (on behalf of someone), it expresses the positive feeling of being proud of another person's achievement. Used without that structure, it most often describes a person as arrogant or conceited. Tone and context determine which sense is intended.

Meanings

1. [adjective] Proud (positive) — feeling pride in someone or something.
2. [adjective] Arrogant; conceited; self-important (negative) — thinking too highly of oneself.
3. [noun] Pride; a source of pride.

Example Sentences

我为你感到骄傲。 Wǒ wèi nǐ gǎndào jiāoào. I am proud of you.

他是我们班的骄傲。 Tā shì wǒmen bān de jiāoào. He is the pride of our class.

他成绩很好，但是有点儿骄傲。 Tā chéngjì hěn hǎo, dànshì yǒudiǎnr jiāoào. He gets good grades, but he is a bit arrogant.

不要骄傲，还需要继续努力。 Bùyào jiāoào, hái xūyào jìxù nǔlì. Don't be arrogant — you still need to keep working hard.

Collocations

Memory Hook

骄 has the horse radical 马 — a horse that rears up proudly (or refuses to be controlled). 傲 means "disdainful / haughty." A rearing horse that looks down on others: that image captures both pride and arrogance at once.