标
Character Story & Explanation
标 is central to daily life in China: food packages carry 食品标签 (shípǐn biāoqiān, 'food labels') required by national regulation GB 7718; metro stations use 地铁线路标识 (dìtiě xiànlù biāozhì, 'subway line markers'); and exams list 评分标准 (píngfēn biāozhǔn, 'scoring standards'). The idiom 标新立异 (biāo xīn lì yì, 'to set up new ideas and stand out') has been documented since the Ming dynasty in literary criticism texts.
The character’s earliest attested form appears in seal script (c. 3rd century BCE), showing a vertical line (representing a tall wooden marker) with decorative elements — reflecting its original use as a boundary or ceremonial post. By the Han dynasty, it consistently meant 'to mark' or 'standard' in administrative documents.
Hi students! Let’s learn 标 (biāo), a Level 4 HSK character meaning 'mark', 'label', or 'standard'. It’s made of 9 strokes and belongs to the 木 (mù, 'tree') radical — not because it’s about wood, but because its ancient form included a wooden post used as a landmark. Think of it like a signpost: something you see to know where you are or what something is.
This character appears everywhere in modern Chinese — on product packaging (‘ingredients label’), in classrooms (‘grading criteria’), and even in tech (‘HTML tags’). It’s never just ‘a mark’ in isolation; it always implies purpose: identifying, measuring, or guiding. That intentionality is key to using 标 correctly.
Don’t confuse it with similar-sounding characters like 表 (biǎo, 'to express') or 漂 (piào, 'to float'). Focus on its structure: left side is 木 (tree), right side is 票 (piào, 'ticket' or 'certificate') — suggesting a marked document or official token. Practice writing it slowly: start with the tree radical, then build the right part stroke by stroke!
Example Sentences
Common Compounds
Similar Characters — Don't Mix These Up
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