条 (tiáo) means "strip" with HSK 1 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: strip
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
条 does not appear in oracle bone script and is first attested in later bronze and seal forms. It is a compound character built from 攸 on top, which itself depicted a hand holding a stick to strike a person, and 木 (wood) at the bottom. The original sense relates to the slender branches of a tree.
Form evolution
In seal script the character shows 攸 clearly above 木. Clerical script compressed the upper element, so the hand and stick merged into the familiar 夊-like shape now written at the top of 条. The traditional form 條 preserves 攸 intact, while the simplified 条 is based on a cursive clerical variant that reduced the top to three strokes over 木.
How the meaning evolved
The earliest meaning was a small twig or slender branch, then anything long and thin such as a strip, stick, or line. From this came the sense of an article or clause in a document, because each item was written as a separate strip, and then its very common modern use as a measure word for long thin objects like roads, fish, trousers, and rivers. The original botanical meaning survives mainly in compounds.
Cultural note
When counting long flexible things, 条 is the default measure word, which is why 一条鱼, 一条路 and 一条裤子 all work despite the wildly different objects. The compound 条件 (condition, requirement) comes from the older sense of a written clause, preserving the bureaucratic meaning alongside the everyday measure-word use.
Basic info
| Pinyin | tiáo |
| Meanings | strip |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 1 |
| Frequency | #487 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 条
On the new HSK 1 exam
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Frequently Asked Questions
Appears in these articles
Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.