啸 xiào — whistle; roar · English

啸

xiào

whistle; roar

At a glance · 啸

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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.

小篆从口，肅声，本义为撮口出声（长啸）。形声清晰。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

本义为撮口长呼。

Structure

形声字，从口（意符，出声），肅（sù）为声符。

At a glance

Pinyinxiào

Radical口

Strokes11

UnicodeU+5578

Character type形声

Theme动作

Six languages, one character

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

English whistle; roar To whistle or howl (long call).

Français siffler; hurler Siffler ou hurler (long cri).

Español silbar; rugir Silbar o rugir (grito largo).

العربية يصفر؛ يزأر يصفر أو يطلق صرخة طويلة.

Русский свистеть; выть Свистеть или издавать длинный крик.

Common words

啸xiàowhistle
呼啸hū xiàohowl

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