劭 shào — encourage; to excel; excellent · English

劭

shào

encourage; to excel; excellent

At a glance · 劭

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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.

小篆从力（意符，努力），召声，本义为劝勉、自强。隶楷从力从召，形声清晰。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

本义为勉励，引申为美好、高尚。

Structure

形声字，从力（意符，勉力），召（zhào）为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinshào

Radical力

Strokes7

UnicodeU+52AD

Character type形声

Theme德行

Six languages, one character

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

English encourage; to excel; excellent To encourage; to excel; excellent.

Français encourager; excellent Encourager ; excellent.

Español alentar; excelente Alentar; excelente.

العربية يحثّ؛ ممتاز؛ فاضل أن يحثّ أو يشجّع؛ ممتاز أو فاضل.

Русский поощрять; отличный Поощрять; превосходный или добродетельный.

Common words

劭shàoexcellent
劭shàoencourage

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