| 1 | 挑 | 挑 | tiāo | tiao1 | to carry on a shoulder pole; to choose; to pick; to nitpick | | |
| 2 | 挑选 | 挑選 | tiāo xuǎn | tiao1 xuan3 | to choose; to select | | |
| 3 | 挑剔 | 挑剔 | tiāo ti | tiao1 ti5 | picky; fussy | | |
| 4 | 撂挑子 | 撂挑子 | liào tiāo zi | liao4 tiao1 zi5 | (coll.) to quit one's job in disgust | | |
| 5 | 没得挑剔 | 沒得挑剔 | méi dé tiāo ti | mei2 de2 tiao1 ti5 | excellent in every respect; flawless | | |
| 6 | 无可挑剔 | 無可挑剔 | wú kě tiāo ti | wu2 ke3 tiao1 ti5 | excellent in every respect; flawless | | |
| 7 | 剃头挑子一头热 | 剃頭挑子一頭熱 | tì tóu tiāo zi yī tóu rè | ti4 tou2 tiao1 zi5 yi1 tou2 re4 | lit. only one end of the barber's pole is hot (idiom); fig. one-sided enthusiasm; one party is interested, but the other, not so much; (Note: In former days, street barbers carried their equipment on a pole, with tools and a stool at one end and a brazier at the other.) | | |
| 8 | 挑子 | 挑子 | tiāo zi | tiao1 zi5 | carrying pole and its load | | |
| 9 | 挑刺 | 挑刺 | tiāo cì | tiao1 ci4 | to carp; nitpicking; petty criticism | | |
| 10 | 挑三拣四 | 挑三揀四 | tiāo sān jiǎn sì | tiao1 san1 jian3 si4 | to be picky; to be choosy | | |
| 11 | 挑染 | 挑染 | tiāo rǎn | tiao1 ran3 | highlight (hair); partial hair dye | | |
| 12 | 挑毛剔刺儿 | 挑毛剔刺兒 | tiāo máo tī cì r | tiao1 mao2 ti1 ci4 r5 | erhua variant of 挑毛剔刺 | | |
| 13 | 挑毛病 | 挑毛病 | tiāo máo bìng | tiao1 mao2 bing4 | to nitpick; petty criticism; to nag | | |
| 14 | 挑口板 | 挑口板 | tiāo kǒu bǎn | tiao1 kou3 ban3 | fascia; eaves board | | |
| 15 | 挑精选肥 | 挑精選肥 | tiāo jīng xuǎn féi | tiao1 jing1 xuan3 fei2 | to pick the best; to be very choosy (idiom) | | |
| 16 | 挑精拣肥 | 挑精揀肥 | tiāo jīng jiǎn féi | tiao1 jing1 jian3 fei2 | to pick and choose; to be picky (idiom) | | |
| 17 | 挑夫 | 挑夫 | tiāo fū | tiao1 fu1 | porter | | |
| 18 | 挑肥嫌瘦 | 挑肥嫌瘦 | tiāo féi xián shòu | tiao1 fei2 xian2 shou4 | to choose sth over another to suit one's own convenience | | |
| 19 | 勇挑重担 | 勇挑重擔 | yǒng tiāo zhòng dàn | yong3 tiao1 zhong4 dan4 | to bravely take on heavy responsibilities (idiom) | | |
| 20 | 柿子挑软的捏 | 柿子挑軟的捏 | shì zi tiāo ruǎn de niē | shi4 zi5 tiao1 ruan3 de5 nie1 | lit. it's the soft persimmons that people choose to squeeze (idiom); fig. it's the weak (i.e. 软柿子 ) who get picked on; bullies pick soft targets | | |
| 21 | 撂挑 | 撂挑 | liào tiāo | liao4 tiao1 | lit. to put down the load; to quit one's job or responsibiities | | |
| 22 | 精挑细选 | 精挑細選 | jīng tiāo xì xuǎn | jing1 tiao1 xi4 xuan3 | to select very carefully | | |
| 23 | 肩挑叫卖 | 肩挑叫賣 | jiān tiāo jiào mài | jian1 tiao1 jiao4 mai4 | to carry wares around on a pole (idiom) | | |
| 24 | 鸡蛋里挑骨头 | 雞蛋裡挑骨頭 | jī dàn li tiāo gǔ tou | ji1 dan4 li5 tiao1 gu3 tou5 | to look for bones in an egg; to find fault; to nitpick (idiom) | | |
| 25 | 横挑鼻子竖挑眼 | 橫挑鼻子豎挑眼 | héng tiāo bí zi shù tiāo yǎn | heng2 tiao1 bi2 zi5 shu4 tiao1 yan3 | to pick on sth incessantly (idiom); to criticize right and left | | |