索 (suǒ): abbr. for 索馬里|索马里, Somalia, to search, to demand
索 (suǒ) is a Chinese character meaning “to search.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 十 (structural), 冖 (structural) and 糸 (structural). It ranks #805 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 索 a rope 糸 hanging from the ceiling 冖. Its radical form 纟 (silk) appears in many related characters such as 系 (xì, to connect), 累 (lèi, tired), 绍 (shào, to continue).
Definitions
- abbr. for 索馬里|索马里, Somalia
- to search
- to demand
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA rope 糸 hanging from the ceiling 冖
Decomposition: ⿱⿱十冖糸 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 索 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 索
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 线索noun | xiàn suǒ | trail | 6 |
| 搜索verb | sōu suǒ | to search (a place, a database, online etc) | 5 |
| 探索verb | tàn suǒ | to explore | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 勒索verb | lè suǒ | to blackmail |
| 绳索noun | shéng suǒ | rope |
| 毕加索proper-noun | bì jiā suǒ | Picasso |
| 索尔noun | suǒ ěr | Thor (Norse god of thunder) |
| 利索adjective | lì suo | nimble |
| 索赔verb | suǒ péi | to ask for compensation |
| 思索verb | sī suǒ | to think deeply |
| 索尼proper-noun | suǒ ní | Sony |
| 索取verb | suǒ qǔ | to ask |
| 索要verb | suǒ yào | to ask for |
| 摸索verb | mō suo | to feel about |
| 比索noun | bǐ suǒ | (loanword) peso (monetary unit) |
| 索马里proper-noun | suǒ mǎ lǐ | Somalia |
| 导火索noun | dǎo huǒ suǒ | fuse (for explosive) |
| 检索verb | jiǎn suǒ | to retrieve (data) |
索 appears in 100 compound words: 33 as the first character, 44 as the last, and 23 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 索 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (13)
to do things along rigid, conventional lines; to try and find something with the help of a clue
Showing 12 of 13 idioms containing 索.
Example Sentences
索字由7笔画组成，结构很巧妙。
suǒ zì yóu bǐ huà zǔ chéng , jié gòu hěn qiǎo miào .
The character "索" consists of seven strokes and has a very ingenious structure.
Reddit 将商品卡片带入搜索结果,让社区推荐转化为实际购买行为
R e d d i t jiāng shāng pǐn kǎ piàn dài rù sōu suǒ jié guǒ , ràng shè qū tuī jiàn zhuǎn huà wéi shí jì gòu mǎi háng wéi
Reddit brings product cards into search results, allowing community recommendations to turn into actual purchases
福建女孩扶起骑车摔倒老人 遭索赔人民币22万缠讼近1年
fú jiàn nǚ hái fú qǐ qí chē shuāi dǎo lǎo rén zāo suǒ péi rén mín bì 2 2 wàn chán sòng jìn 1 nián
Fujian girl helped up and fell on a bicycle and fell down an old man and was sued for nearly 1 year with a claim of RMB 220,000
索马利兰盼国际承认 愿意允美国运用矿产及军...
suǒ mǎ lì lán pàn guó jì chéng rèn yuàn yì yǔn měi guó yùn yòng kuàng chǎn jí jūn . . .
Somaliland hopes for international recognition and willingness to allow the United States to use minerals and military...
索马利兰官员:愿意允美国运用矿产及军事基地
suǒ mǎ lì lán guān yuán : yuàn yì yǔn měi guó yùn yòng kuàng chǎn jí jūn shì jī dì
Somaliland official: willing to allow the United States to use minerals and military bases
...周秀娜劲敌”瑜伽租场发生意外 学生整亲头索5万心灵补偿
. . . zhōu xiù 娜 jìn dí 瑜 伽 zū chǎng fā shēng yì wài xué shēng zhěng qīn tóu suǒ 5 wàn xīn líng bǔ cháng
... Zhou Xiuna's rival "had an accident in the yoga rental room, and the student asked for 50,000 yuan in spiritual compensation
海洋的深层仍然几乎未被探索。
Hǎiyáng de shēn céng réngrán jīhū wèi bèi tànsuǒ.
The deep layers of the ocean are still almost unexplored.
毕加索是个人尽皆知的著名艺术家。
Bìjiāsuǒ shì gèrén jìnjiē zhī de zhùmíng yìshùjiā.
Picasso is a famous artist whom everyone knows.
她被视为日本的毕加索。
Tā bèi shìwéi Rìběn de Bìjiāsuǒ.
She is known as the Japanese Picasso.
这封信是揭开谜团的唯一线索。
Zhè fēng xìn shì jiēkāi mítuán de wéiyī xiànsuǒ.
This letter is the only key to the mystery.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 索 (suǒ)?
Is 索 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 索 with real-time feedback
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