勺 (sháo): spoon, ladle, CL:把

勺 (sháo) is a Chinese character meaning “spoon.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 勹 (structural) and 丶 (structural). It ranks #2864 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 勺 a spoon 勹 with something in it 丶. Its radical form 勹 (wrap) appears in many related characters such as 包 (bāo, to cover), 勾 (gōu, to attract), 勿 (wù, do not).

Spoken pronunciation

Definitions

  1. spoon
  2. ladle
  3. CL:把

Etymology & Origin

勺

ideographicA spoon 勹 with something in it 丶

Decomposition: ⿹勹丶 (layout: surround-from-upper-right)

Stroke Order

1
2
3

Practice writing 勺 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

HSK Vocabulary with 勺

WordPinyinMeaningHSK
勺子nounsháo zispoon3

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
后脑勺nounhòu nǎo sháoback of the head
汤勺nountāng sháosoup ladle
掌勺nounzhǎng sháoto be in charge of the cooking
漏勺nounlòu sháoperforated spoon
一马勺坏一锅yī mǎ sháo huài yī guōone ladle (of sth bad) spoils the (whole) pot (idiom)
公勺noungōng sháoserving spoon
水勺shuǐ sháoladle
马勺nounmǎ sháowooden ladle
脑勺nounnǎo sháoback of the head
饭勺nounfàn sháorice paddle
耳挖勺nouněr wā sháo(dialect) earpick
挖耳勺nounwā ěr sháoear pick
勺嘴鹬sháo zuǐ yù(bird species of China) spoon-billed sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea)
掏耳勺nountāo ěr sháoear pick
勺鸡sháo jī(bird species of China) koklass pheasant (Pucrasia macrolopha)
20
Total compounds
15
As first character
80
As last character
5
As middle character

勺 appears in 20 compound words: 15 as the first character, 80 as the last, and 5 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Strongest Collocations

Characters that most frequently co-occur with 勺 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

柄bǐng
0.45286 co-occurrences
脑nǎo
0.445120 co-occurrences
筷kuài
0.42614 co-occurrences
掏tāo
0.39910 co-occurrences
饭fàn
0.39836 co-occurrences
碗wǎn
0.39024 co-occurrences
汤tāng
0.39046 co-occurrences
嘴zuǐ
0.38650 co-occurrences
锅guō
0.38520 co-occurrences
挖wā
0.38446 co-occurrences

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

我在字典里查到了勺字的详细解释。

wǒ zài zì diǎn lǐ chá dào le sháo zì de xiáng xì xiè shì .

I looked up the detailed explanation of the character "勺" in the dictionary.

中国新闻网·生活Aug 2026

一个颠勺几年的厨师,交一笔钱就能挂上“大师”头衔。

yī gè diān sháo jī nián de chú shī , jiāo yī bǐ qián jiù néng guà shàng dà shī tóu xián .

A chef who’s been flipping pans for a few years can earn the title of “master” just by paying a fee.

中国新闻网·生活Jul 2026

再调一小碟淡味蘸汁:蒜末少许,加生抽一勺、香醋一勺、白糖少许、香油几滴,搅匀即成。

zài diào yī xiǎo dié dàn wèi zhàn zhī : suàn mò shǎo xǔ , jiā shēng chōu yī sháo , xiāng cù yī sháo , bái táng shǎo xǔ , xiāng yóu jī dī , jiǎo yún jí chéng .

Prepare another small dish of a mild dipping sauce: Add a small amount of minced garlic, one spoonful of light soy sauce, one spoonful of aromatic vinegar, a pinch of white sugar, and a few drops of sesame oil. Stir well to combine.

少数派May 2026

危险的速度差 日本站比赛,贝尔曼在铃鹿的勺子弯前试图超越前方的克拉平托。

wēi xiǎn de sù dù chā rì běn zhàn bǐ sài , bèi ěr màn zài líng lù de sháo zǐ wān qián shì tú chāo yuè qián fāng de kè lā píng tuō .

A Dangerous Speed Difference: During the Japanese Grand Prix, Belman attempted to pass Klapinto, who was ahead of him, before the Spoon Curve at Suzuka.

中国新闻网·文化May 2026

临出锅时,烹入一勺香醋,酸香瞬间激发,去腥提鲜。

lín chū guō shí , pēng rù yī sháo xiāng cù , suān xiāng shùn jiān jī fā , qù xīng tí xiān .

Just before serving, add a spoonful of aromatic vinegar—its tangy aroma will instantly bring out the dish’s flavor, removing any fishy smell and enhancing its natural freshness.

中国新闻网·生活Apr 2026

香椿芽洗净,切成碎丁,一勺盐便是最好的调味。

xiāng 椿 yá xǐ jìng , qiē chéng suì dīng , yī sháo yán biàn shì zuì hǎo de diào wèi .

Wash the Chinese toon sprouts, chop them into small pieces, and a spoonful of salt is the best seasoning.

Tatoeba

麻烦了,请给我一把汤勺好吗?

Máfan le, qǐng gěi wǒ yī bǎ tāng sháo hǎo ma?

Excuse me, may I have a spoon?

Tatoeba

宝宝还不会使用勺子。

Bǎobǎo hái bù huì shǐyòng sháozi.

The baby cannot use a spoon yet.

Character Family

勹 Radical Family — Characters sharing the wrap radical

Homophones — Characters pronounced sháo

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 勺 (sháo) mean in Chinese?
勺 (sháo) primarily means "spoon." It is classified as HSK Level 3, making it a beginner-level character. It ranks #2864 in character frequency.
How many strokes does 勺 have?
勺 is written with 3 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.
What is the radical of 勺?
The radical associated with 勺 is 勹 (wrap). This radical appears in many characters related to wrap.
What are the components of 勺?
勺 is composed of: 勹 (structural), 丶 (structural). Its IDS decomposition is ⿹勹丶 with a surround-from-upper-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 勺?
Common words with 勺 include: 勺子 (sháo zi, "spoon"); 后脑勺 (hòu nǎo sháo, "back of the head"); 汤勺 (tāng sháo, "soup ladle"); 掌勺 (zhǎng sháo, "to be in charge of the cooking"); 漏勺 (lòu sháo, "perforated spoon"). There are over 20 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 勺 (sháo)?
Several characters share the pronunciation sháo: 少 (few), 烧 (to burn, to cook), 绍 (to continue), 稍 (somewhat), and 3 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 勺 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 勺 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 勺 with real-time feedback

Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.

Character data sourced from Unihan (Unicode Consortium), SUBTLEX-CH frequency corpus (Cai & Brysbaert, 2010), and Make Me a Hanzi (stroke data). Collocation strength measured via NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information). Verified by the HanziFeed linguistics team.

HSK classification follows the HSK 3.0 Standard (Center for Language Education and Cooperation, CLEC, 2022 revision). Idiom data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Data last verified: March 2026.