效 (xiào): effect, efficacy, to imitate
效 (xiào) is a Chinese character meaning “effect.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 交 (phonetic) and 攵 (semantic). It ranks #551 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 效 strike. Its radical form 攵 (rap) appears in many related characters such as 放 (fàng, to put, to release), 教 (jiào, (bound form) to teach), 收 (shōu, to receive).
Definitions
- effect
- efficacy
- to imitate
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 效 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 效
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 效果noun | xiào guǒ | result | 4 |
| 有效verb | yǒu xiào | effective | 4 |
| 无效verb | wú xiào | not valid | 5 |
| 效应noun | xiào yìng | effect (scientific phenomenon) | 6 |
| 效率noun | xiào lǜ | efficiency | 5 |
| 高效adjective | gāo xiào | efficient | 5 |
| 成效noun | chéng xiào | effect | 6 |
| 功效noun | gōng xiào | efficacy | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 效劳verb | xiào láo | to serve (in some capacity) |
| 奏效verb | zòu xiào | to show results |
| 失效verb | shī xiào | to fail |
| 效力noun | xiào lì | effectiveness |
| 生效verb | shēng xiào | (of a law, contract, agreement, ban etc) to come into force |
| 效忠verb | xiào zhōng | to vow loyalty and devotion to |
| 特效noun | tè xiào | marked effect |
| 药效noun | yào xiào | medicinal effect |
| 音效noun | yīn xiào | sound effect |
| 见效verb | jiàn xiào | to produce the intended effect |
| 疗效noun | liáo xiào | healing efficacy |
| 效仿verb | xiào fǎng | see 仿傚|仿效 |
| 有效期noun | yǒu xiào qī | period of validity |
| 行之有效phrase | xíng zhī yǒu xiào | to be effective (idiom) |
| 时效noun | shí xiào | timeliness |
效 appears in 97 compound words: 18 as the first character, 44 as the last, and 38 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 效 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (11)
to imitate others only to make a fool of oneself; to attempt a crude or awkward imitation
Example Sentences
这种方法效果显著，值得推广。
Zhè zhǒng fāngfǎ xiàoguǒ xiǎnzhù, zhíde tuīguǎng.
This method has remarkable results and is worth promoting.
川普:加征15%关税立即生效 全球贸易重返不确定性时代
chuān pǔ : jiā zhēng 1 5 guān shuì lì jí shēng xiào quán qiú mào yì chóng fǎn bù què dìng xìng shí dài
Trump: The 15% tariff will take effect immediately Global trade returns to an era of uncertainty
川普施压伊朗恐有反效果 使中东陷入新动荡
chuān pǔ shī yā yī lǎng kǒng yǒu fǎn xiào guǒ shǐ zhōng dōng xiàn rù xīn dòng dàng
Trump's pressure on Iran may have the opposite effect and plunge the Middle East into new turmoil
传统采洗牡蛎费工费时 台南引进洗蚵机提升效率
chuán tǒng cǎi xǐ mǔ 蛎 fèi gōng fèi shí tái nán yǐn jìn xǐ 蚵 jī tí shēng xiào lǜ
Traditional oyster washing is labor-intensive and time-consuming, and Tainan has introduced oyster washing machines to improve efficiency
...客乘搭新干线引争议 知事:可创17亿日圆效益
. . . kè chéng dā xīn gān xiàn yǐn zhēng yì zhī shì : kě chuàng 1 7 yì rì yuán xiào yì
... Passenger ride on the Shinkansen caused controversy Governor: It can create a benefit of 1.7 billion yen
抗皱祛斑用什么护肤品好?美白最有效的产品榜:淡斑祛..
kàng zhòu 祛 bān yòng shén má hù fū pǐn hǎo ? měi bái zuì yǒu xiào de chǎn pǐn bǎng dàn bān 祛 . .
Anti-wrinkle spots with what skin care products good? Whitening the most effective products list: light spot removal ...
这个签证的有效期限是多久?
Zhège qiānzhèng de yǒuxiàoqī xiàn shì duōjiǔ?
How long is this visa good for?
预防措施比真正的治疗更有效。
Yùfáng cuòshī bǐ zhēnzhèng de zhìliáo gèng yǒuxiào.
Preventive measures are much more effective than the actual treatment.
这毒药用来治蟑螂很有效。
Zhè dúyào yònglái zhì zhāngláng hěn yǒuxiào.
This poison is very effective in getting rid of roaches.
这条规则不是任何情况下都奏效的。
Zhè tiáo guīzé bù shì rènhé qíngkuàng xià dōu zòuxiào de.
This rule does not apply in all cases.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 攵 (strike) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 效 (xiào) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 效 and 较?
How many strokes does 效 have?
What is the radical of 效?
What are the components of 效?
What are common words containing 效?
What characters sound the same as 效 (xiào)?
Is 效 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 效 with real-time feedback
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