教 (jiāo) is "to teach," and it belongs to a small, high-value club of Chinese verbs that take two objects at once — a learner and a thing taught — with no preposition between them: 教我们中文, literally "teach us Chinese." English happens to use the same order ("teach us Chinese"), which is a gift, so the real work is (a) resisting the urge to slip in a "to" or 给, and (b) getting the tone right, because the verb 教 is first tone (jiāo), while the character's second reading, jiào, is the one hiding in 教育, 教师, and 宗教.
A tone that changes the word: jiāo vs jiào
教 is a 多音字 (a character with two readings). As the verb "to teach," it is jiāo (first tone): 教我 jiāo wǒ. As a bound morpheme in nouns of education / doctrine, it is jiào (fourth tone): 教育 jiàoyù "education," 教师 jiàoshī "teacher," 教室 jiàoshì "classroom," 宗教 zōngjiào "religion." Say jiào wǒ for "teach me" and you've said something that just sounds wrong to a native ear.
Sense 1: teach (a subject or skill)
With a single object — the subject matter — 教 means "teach [that thing]." 教书 (jiāo shū, literally "teach books") is the set phrase for "be a teacher / teach for a living."
他在大学教历史。
tā zài dàxué jiāo lìshǐ
He teaches history at a university.
我妈妈教了三十年书。
wǒ māma jiāo le sānshí nián shū
My mom taught for thirty years. — 教书 = teach as a profession.
Sense 2: teach someone something (double object)
Now both objects appear: 教 + learner + subject. This is the pattern to burn in. The learner comes first (it's the closer, more "given" object), the content second — exactly like 给 someone something or 告诉 someone something.
王老师教我们语法。
Wáng lǎoshī jiāo wǒmen yǔfǎ
Teacher Wang teaches us grammar.
谁教你英语的？
shéi jiāo nǐ Yīngyǔ de
Who taught you English? — 是…的 emphasizing the past teacher.
我可以教你中文，你教我西班牙语，怎么样？
wǒ kěyǐ jiāo nǐ Zhōngwén, nǐ jiāo wǒ Xībānyáyǔ, zěnmeyàng
I can teach you Chinese, you teach me Spanish — how about it?
Sense 3: teach someone to do something
Swap the second object for a whole verb phrase and 教 means "teach someone how to do" it. No 怎么 is required, though it's common: 教我做饭 or 教我怎么做饭.
奶奶教我包饺子。
nǎinai jiāo wǒ bāo jiǎozi
Grandma is teaching me to wrap dumplings.
你能教我怎么用这个软件吗？
nǐ néng jiāo wǒ zěnme yòng zhège ruǎnjiàn ma
Can you teach me how to use this software?
Key collocations
| Phrase | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 教书 | jiāo shū | teach (for a living), be a teacher |
| 教我中文 | jiāo wǒ Zhōngwén | teach me Chinese |
| 教…做… | jiāo … zuò … | teach sb to do sth |
| 请教 | qǐngjiào | consult, ask sb's advice (jiào!) |
| 教育 | jiàoyù | education; to educate (jiào) |
| 教师 / 教室 | jiàoshī / jiàoshì | teacher / classroom (jiào) |
Grammar notes
教 is a double-object verb, so it patterns exactly like 给 (give), 告诉 (tell), 问 (ask), and 送 (give as a gift): [learner/recipient] + [content], no coverb between them. The whole family is laid out on double-object verbs; compare the paradigm members 给 (give), 问 (ask), and 写 (write). 教 takes aspect freely: 教过 (have taught), 教了三年 (taught for three years), 正在教 (am teaching).
Watch out for near-synonyms
Don't confuse 教 (teach) with 学 (xué, learn) — they point in opposite directions. The teacher 教 the student, and the student 学 from the teacher (跟老师学). And keep 教 apart from 告诉 (gàosu, "tell / inform"): you 告诉 someone a fact, but you 教 someone a skill.
Watch one more overlap: the fourth-tone compound 教育 (jiàoyù) is also a verb, but it means "to educate / lecture / set straight," not to impart a skill. 老师教我们数学 is teaching maths; 老师教育我们要诚实 is a moral talking-to. Keep the skill-teaching 教 (jiāo) separate from the disciplining 教育 (jiàoyù).
老师教育我们做人要诚实。
lǎoshī jiàoyù wǒmen zuò rén yào chéngshí
The teacher taught us to be honest people. — 教育 = instill values, not teach a subject.
Common Mistakes
1. Swapping 教 and 学 (teach vs learn). English "learn me Chinese" transfers straight into the wrong verb.
❌ 老师学我中文。
Reversed — the teacher does the teaching: 教. (The student 学s: 我跟老师学中文.)
✅ 老师教我中文。
lǎoshī jiāo wǒ Zhōngwén
The teacher teaches me Chinese.
2. Reversing the two objects. Learner first, content second — not the other way round.
❌ 老师教中文我们。
Wrong order — the learner comes first: 教我们中文.
✅ 老师教我们中文。
lǎoshī jiāo wǒmen Zhōngwén
The teacher teaches us Chinese.
3. Inserting a coverb (对 / 给) before the learner. Standard Mandarin uses no preposition here.
❌ 他对我们教数学。
Incorrect — no 对 before the learner. Just 教我们数学.
✅ 他教我们数学。
tā jiāo wǒmen shùxué
He teaches us maths.
4. Using bare 教 when you mean 'ask for advice' (请教). To consult someone politely, you 请教 them — and note the tone flips to jiào.
❌ 我想教您一个问题。
Backwards — 教 here would mean 'teach YOU a question'. To ask advice, use 请教 (qǐngjiào).
✅ 我想请教您一个问题。
wǒ xiǎng qǐngjiào nín yí ge wèntí
May I ask your advice on something?
Key Takeaways
- The verb "teach" is jiāo (first tone); the education/religion noun reading is jiào (fourth tone) — 教育, 教师, 宗教.
- 教 is a double-object verb: 教 + learner + content, no preposition (教我们中文).
- The learner comes first, the subject second — like 给, 告诉, 问, 送.
- 教 (teach) is the mirror of 学 (learn): 老师教, 学生学.
- 请教 (qǐngjiào) = "consult / ask advice" — and it keeps the fourth-tone jiào.
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- 给 (gěi) — to give / for / toHSK 2 — 给 (gěi) is one word for three English ones. As a verb it takes two objects — 给我一本书 (give me a book). As a coverb it means 'to / for' before the verb — 给你打电话 (call you). As a complement it marks transfer — 交给老师 (hand in to the teacher).
- 问 (wèn) — to ask (a question)HSK 2 — 问 (wèn) is to ask a question — to inquire, to seek information: 问老师一个问题, 我想问你一件事. It takes a double object (问 + person + question), opens politely as 请问, and 'sends regards' as 问好. Crucially it is NOT 'ask someone to do something' (请/让) or 'ask for an object' (要).
- 写 (xiě) — to writeHSK 1 — 写 (xiě) is to write — put characters, letters, and text on the page (写字, 写信, 写作业) and to compose or author (写小说, 写歌). It wants an object or a result complement (写完, 写好, 写错, 写下来) — bare 写 sounds unfinished. Keep it apart from 画 (draw).