交头接耳 (jiāo tóu jiē ěr)

Character breakdown

• 交 (jiāo) · 6 strokes

  Pictograph of a person standing with crossed legs, conveying the meaning "to cross".

• 头 (tóu) · 5 strokes

  Phonosemantic compound. 頁 represents the meaning and 豆 represents the sound. The simplified character 头 was adapted from the cursive form of the traditional character 頭.

• 接 (jiē) · 11 strokes

  Phonosemantic compound. 扌 represents the meaning and 妾 represents the sound.

• 耳 (ěr) · 6 strokes

  Pictograph of an ear.