稍 (shāo): somewhat, a little, used in 稍息
稍 (shāo) is a Chinese character meaning “somewhat.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 禾 (structural) and 肖 (structural). It ranks #1365 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 稍 resembling 肖 grain 禾; 肖 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 禾 (grain) appears in many related characters such as 秋 (qiū, autumn), 科 (kē, branch of study), 租 (zū, to hire).
Definitions
- somewhat
- a little
- used in 稍息
Etymology & Origin
ideographicResembling 肖 grain 禾; 肖 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰禾肖 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 稍 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 稍
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 稍后adverb | shāo hòu | in a little while |
| 稍稍adverb | shāo shāo | somewhat |
| 稍候verb | shāo hòu | to wait a moment |
| 稍息verb | shào xī | (military) Stand at ease! |
| 稍纵即逝adjective | shāo zòng jí shì | transient |
| 稍许adverb | shāo xǔ | a little |
| 稍早时 | shāo zǎo shí | a little earlier |
| 稍等verb | shāo děng | to wait a moment |
| 稍快板 | shāo kuài bǎn | allegretto |
| 稍早 | shāo zǎo | a little early |
| 稍食 | shāo shí | (old) monthly salary of an official |
| 稍异 | shāo yì | differing slightly |
| 稍安毋躁 | shāo ān wú zào | variant of 少安毋躁 |
| 稍嫌 | shāo xián | more than one would wish |
| 稍安勿躁phrase | shāo ān wù zào | variant of 少安毋躁 |
稍 appears in 16 compound words: 100 as the first character, 0 as the last, and 0 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 稍 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (2)
Example Sentences
请稍等片刻，我马上就好。
Qǐng shāo děng piànkè, wǒ mǎshàng jiù hǎo.
Please wait a moment; I'll be ready soon.
稍微有一个关节没跟上，画面就可能从“游刃有余”变成“连滚带爬”。
shāo wēi yǒu yī gè guān jié méi gēn shàng , huà miàn jiù kě néng cóng yóu 刃 yǒu yú biàn chéng lián gǔn dài pá .
If even one joint is off, the movement can go from "effortless" to "stumbling and fumbling."
在确保已经把之前我们提到的主板 COMS 电池取下之后就可以将机器内部稍微清灰。
zài què bǎo yǐ jīng bǎ zhī qián wǒ men tí dào de zhǔ bǎn C O M S diàn chí qǔ xià zhī hòu jiù kě yǐ jiāng jī qì nèi bù shāo wēi qīng huī .
Once you've made sure to remove the motherboard CMOS battery we mentioned earlier, you can gently clean out the dust inside the computer.
好消息，平时骑“电鸡”上班的朋友，可以稍微骑快点了。
hǎo xiāo xī , píng shí qí diàn jī shàng bān de péng yǒu , kě yǐ shāo wēi qí kuài diǎn le .
Good news: If you usually ride an e-bike to work, you can go a little faster now.
明天天气/锋面通过!北台稍有凉意 “连3天有雨”范围曝
míng tiān tiān qì fēng miàn tōng guò ! běi tái shāo yǒu liáng yì lián 3 tiān yǒu yǔ fàn wéi pù
Tomorrow's Weather: A Cold Front Is Passing Through! Slightly Cooler in Northern Taiwan; "Three Days of Rain" Area Revealed
特朗普10%全球關稅正式生效 白宮:稍後將提高至15%
tè lǎng pǔ quán qiú 關 稅 zhèng shì shēng xiào bái 宮 shāo 後 將 tí gāo zhì
[Translation pending - API quota exceeded]
请您稍后再来好吗？
Qǐng nín shāohòu zài lái hǎo ma?
Would you please come again later?
你们能稍微讲慢点么？
Nǐmen néng shāowēi jiǎng màn diǎn me?
Can you speak a little slower please?
有没有比这些稍微大一点的？
Yǒuméiyǒu bǐ zhèxiē shāowēi dàyī diǎn de?
Do you have one a little bigger than these?
你能稍微告诉我关于自己的事情吗？
Nǐ néng shāowēi gàosu wǒ guānyú zìjǐ de shìqing ma?
Can you tell me a little about yourself?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 稍 (shāo) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 稍 have?
What is the radical of 稍?
What are the components of 稍?
What are common words containing 稍?
What characters sound the same as 稍 (shāo)?
Is 稍 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 稍 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.