佼

佼 means beautiful; in 佼佼 it means outstanding.

The old poem line 佼人僚兮 describes a beautiful person; poems in the Book of Songs are customarily dated around 1000–600 BCE. Commentators also note 姣 as an alternate form in this line.

說文解字, an early Chinese dictionary, shows a small-seal script form and analyzes 佼 as 亻 (“person”) plus 交 (“associate”). That is the dictionary’s analysis, not a proven origin story. Later Chinese dictionaries also record 佼 used as a sound loan—borrowed to write a similarly pronounced word—for meanings such as “cunning” or “disturb”; Japanese references retain senses related to beauty and craftiness.

How do I type 佼?

Enter Mandarin pinyin jiǎo, then choose 佼.

Pinyin input offers several characters with the same sound, so you may need to select the right candidate. Shape-based options are Cangjie OYCK and Wubi 86 WUQY; Wubi 98 uses WURY.

Use 佼佼者 for an established compliment

Repeating 佼 gives 佼佼, meaning “outstanding” or “above average”; adding 者 makes 佼佼者, a label for an outstanding person or organization. For a present-day compliment, the established phrase is clearer than sending a lone 佼 without context.