僚 liáo — official; colleague · English

僚

liáo

official; colleague

At a glance · 僚

Listen

Audio is synthesized in your browser: Mandarin for the character and Shuowen text, native voices for every translation. No downloads.

Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

小篆从人，寮声，本义为官、同官。形声清晰。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

本义为官属、同官。

Structure

形声字，从人（意符），寮（liáo）为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinliáo

Radical亻

Strokes14

UnicodeU+50DA

Character type形声

Theme政事

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English official; colleague An official or colleague.

Français fonctionnaire; collègue Un fonctionnaire ou collègue.

Español funcionario; colega Un funcionario o colega.

العربية موظف؛ زميل موظف أو زميل.

Русский чиновник; коллега Чиновник или коллега.

Common words

僚liáoofficial
官僚guān liáobureaucrat

◉ Listen