萧 (xiāo): (old) Chinese mugwort, (bound form) desolate, dreary
萧 (xiāo) is a Chinese character meaning “(old) chinese mugwort.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 艹 (phonetic) and 肃 (semantic). It ranks #1877 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 萧 solemn. Its radical form 艹 (grass) appears in many related characters such as 花 (huā, flower), 茶 (chá, tea), 菜 (cài, vegetable, dish).
Definitions
- (old) Chinese mugwort
- (bound form) desolate
- dreary
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 萧 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 萧条 | xiāo tiáo | bleak |
| 萧邦 | xiāo bāng | (Tw) Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849), Polish pianist and composer |
| 萧瑟 | xiāo sè | to rustle in the air |
| 萧墙 | xiāo qiáng | (literary) screen wall shielding an entrance in traditional Chinese architecture |
| 经济萧条 | jīng jì xiāo tiáo | economic depression |
| 大萧条 | dà xiāo tiáo | the Great Depression (1929-c. 1939) |
| 成也萧何，败也萧何 | chéng yě xiāo hé , bài yě xiāo hé | lit. raised up by Xiao He, cast down by Xiao He (idiom), alluding to Han Xin 韓信|韩信[Han2 Xin4] being made Grand Genera... |
| 萧一山 | xiāo yī shān | Xiao Yishan (1902-1978), Modern historian of the Qing dynasty |
| 萧万长 | xiāo wàn cháng | Vincent C. Siew (1939-), Taiwanese diplomat and Kuomintang politician, prime minister 1997-2000, vice president 2008-... |
| 萧子显 | xiāo zǐ xiǎn | Xiao Zixian (487-537), writer and historian of Liang of Southern Dynasties, compiler of History of Qi of the Southern... |
| 萧山区 | xiāo shān qū | Xiaoshan district of Hangzhou city 杭州市[Hang2 zhou1 shi4], Zhejiang |
| 四壁萧然 | sì bì xiāo rán | four bare walls |
| 萧然 | xiāo rán | desolate |
| 萧何 | xiāo hé | Xiao He (-193 BC), famous strategist and chancellor, fought on Liu Bang's 劉邦|刘邦[Liu2 Bang1] side during the Chu-Han C... |
| 萧规曹随 | xiāo guī cáo suí | lit. Xiao's 蕭何|萧何[Xiao1 He2] governance followed by Cao 曹參|曹参[Cao2 Can1] (idiom) |
萧 appears in 23 compound words: 83 as the first character, 0 as the last, and 17 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 萧 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (2)
Example Sentences
了解萧字的来源，有助于理解中国文化。
le xiè xiāo zì de lái yuán , yǒu zhù yú lǐ xiè zhōng guó wén huā .
Understanding the origin of the character "Xiao" helps to comprehend Chinese culture.
老萧:申请房贷一定要和银行买保险?MRTA和...
lǎo xiāo : shēn qǐng fáng dài yī dìng yāo hé yín háng mǎi bǎo xiǎn ? M R T A hé . . .
Lao Xiao: Do you have to buy insurance with the bank to apply for a mortgage? MRTA and...
华南金总座 萧玉美接任
huá nán jīn zǒng zuò xiāo yù měi jiē rèn
South China Jin General Xiao Yumei took over
怕发福?萧美琴发福袋顺便“练深蹲” 网赞:诚恳就在...
pà fā fú ? xiāo měi qín fā fú dài shùn biàn liàn shēn cún wǎng zàn : chéng kěn jiù zài . . .
Afraid of getting fat? Xiao Meiqin distributed lucky bags and "practiced squats" by the way.
发福袋一蹲再蹲!萧美琴笑曝:顺便练深蹲
fā fú dài yī cún zài cún ! xiāo měi qín xiào pù : shùn biàn liàn shēn cún
Squatting and squatting again and again! Xiao Meiqin smiled and revealed: By the way, practice squats
守护万家灯火,90后山东小伙的萧山变电站除夕夜
shǒu hù wàn jiā dēng huǒ , 9 0 hòu shān dōng xiǎo huǒ de xiāo shān biàn diàn zhàn chú xī yè
Guarding the lights of thousands of homes, the New Year's Eve of the Xiaoshan substation of the post-90s Shandong guys
在十九世纪三十年代的大萧条时期，许多富人在股市崩盘中失去了一切。
Zài shíjiǔ shìjì sānshí niándài de Dà Xiāotiáo shíqī, xǔduō fùrén zài gǔshì bēngpán zhōng shīqù le yīqiè.
During the Depression in the 1930's, many wealthy people lost everything in the stock market crash.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 萧 (xiāo) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 萧 have?
What is the radical of 萧?
What are the components of 萧?
What are common words containing 萧?
What characters sound the same as 萧 (xiāo)?
Is 萧 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 萧 with real-time feedback
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