宵 (xiāo): night
宵 (xiāo) is a Chinese character meaning “night.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 宀 (semantic) and 肖 (phonetic). It ranks #2817 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 宵 roof. Its radical form 宀 (roof) appears in many related characters such as 客 (kè, guest, customer), 家 (jiā, home, family), 它 (tā, it).
Definitions
- night
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 宵 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 宵
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 通宵 | tōng xiāo | all night |
| 宵禁 | xiāo jìn | night curfew |
| 夜宵 | yè xiāo | midnight snack |
| 通宵达旦 | tōng xiāo dá dàn | overnight until daybreak (idiom) |
| 打通宵 | dǎ tōng xiāo | to spend the whole night |
| 良宵美景 | liáng xiāo měi jǐng | fine evening, beautiful scenery (idiom) |
| 夜宵儿 | yè xiāo r | erhua variant of 夜宵[ye4 xiao1] |
| 元宵节 | yuán xiāo jié | Lantern Festival, the final event of the Spring Festival 春節|春节, on 15th of first month of the lunar calendar |
| 待宵草 | dài xiāo cǎo | evening primrose |
| 宵小 | xiāo xiǎo | thief |
| 宵衣旰食 | xiāo yī gàn shí | to dress before light and not eat before dark (idiom) |
| 连宵 | lián xiāo | the same night |
| 宵夜 | xiāo yè | midnight snack |
| 宵征 | xiāo zhēng | night journey |
| 春宵 | chūn xiāo | (literary) spring night |
宵 appears in 16 compound words: 31 as the first character, 38 as the last, and 31 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 宵 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
Example Sentences
元宵佳节,灯火通明。
Yuán xiāo jiājié, dēnghuǒ tōngmíng.
During the Lantern Festival, lights shine brightly.
健康吃元宵 中医师教用中药做养生元宵
jiàn kāng chī yuán xiāo zhōng yī shī jiào yòng zhōng yào zuò yǎng shēng yuán xiāo
Eat lanterns healthily Chinese medicine practitioners teach the use of traditional Chinese medicine for health Lantern Festival
...大劈价!北京上海等热门航线低至200 元宵前后出行最抵
. . . dà pī jià ! běi jīng shàng hǎi děng rè mén háng xiàn dī zhì 2 0 0 yuán xiāo qián hòu chū háng zuì dǐ
... Big bargain! Popular routes such as Beijing and Shanghai are as low as 200 yuan, and travel around the Lantern Festival is the most cost-effective
台南新市「鬧元宵」 明起連6天封街登場
tái nán xīn shì 鬧 yuán xiāo míng qǐ 連 tiān fēng jiē dēng 場
Tainan's Xinshi District "Lantern Festival Celebration" Kicks Off Tomorrow with Six Days of Street Closures
元宵夜月全食 全台可見紅月
yuán xiāo yè yuè quán shí quán tái kě 見 紅 yuè
The total lunar eclipse during the Lantern Festival can be seen all over Taiwan
上海財神廟開通宵 香爐起火驚動消防? 官方:射水降溫安全...
shàng hǎi 財 shén 廟 開 tōng xiāo xiāng 爐 qǐ huǒ 驚 動 xiāo fáng ? guān fāng shè shuǐ jiàng 溫 ān quán . . .
Shanghai God of Wealth Temple Opens Overnight Incense Burner Fire Alarms Fire Department? Authorities: Water Spray Cooling Is Safe...
全体销售人员通宵达旦地工作了一周。
Quántǐ xiāoshòu rényuán tōngxiāo-dádàn de gōngzuò le yī zhōu.
The entire sales staff has worked around the clock for a week.
这儿是他们通常吃宵夜的地方。
Zhèr shì tāmen tōngcháng chī xiāoyè de dìfang.
This is where they usually eat supper.
通宵玩游戏很伤身体的。
Tōngxiāo wán yóuxì hěn shāng shēntǐ de.
Playing games all night is very harmful to your health.
元宵节要猜灯谜。
Yuánxiāojié yào cāi dēngmí.
It is a must to guess lantern riddles during the Lantern Festival.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 宵 (xiāo) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 宵 and 日?
How many strokes does 宵 have?
What is the radical of 宵?
What are the components of 宵?
What are common words containing 宵?
What characters sound the same as 宵 (xiāo)?
Is 宵 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 宵 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.