Chinese symbol for “reef”
礁
jiāo
reef; shoal rock
The closest CC-CEDICT match for reef is 礁 (jiāo), defined as: reef; shoal rock.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “reef”
Related words
Other words that share a character with 礁.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 珊瑚礁 | shān hú jiāo | coral reef |
| 礁石 | jiāo shí | reef |
| 暗礁 | àn jiāo | submerged reef (rock) |
| 环礁 (環礁) | huán jiāo | atoll |
| 触礁 (觸礁) | chù jiāo | (of a ship) to strike a reef; (fig.) to hit a snag |
| 堡礁 | bǎo jiāo | barrier reef |
See also: Japanese symbol for “reef”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.