妖 (yāo): goblin, witch, devil
妖 (yāo) is a Chinese character meaning “goblin.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 女 (semantic) and 夭 (phonetic). It ranks #1850 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 妖 woman. Its radical form 女 (woman) appears in many related characters such as 女 (nǚ, woman), 奶 (nǎi, grandmother, milk), 她 (tā, she).
Definitions
- goblin
- witch
- devil
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 妖精 | yāo jing | evil spirit |
| 妖怪 | yāo guài | monster |
| 妖术 | yāo shù | sorcery |
| 妖魔 | yāo mó | demon |
| 妖魔鬼怪 | yāo mó guǐ guài | (idiom) all kinds of evil spirits or malevolent beings |
| 妖言 | yāo yán | heresy |
| 妖孽 | yāo niè | evildoer |
| 妖艳 | yāo yàn | pretty and flirtatious |
| 妖气 | yāo qì | sinister appearance |
| 妖娆 | yāo ráo | enchanting |
| 照妖镜 | zhào yāo jìng | magic mirror for revealing goblins |
| 妖媚 | yāo mèi | seductive |
| 妖风 | yāo fēng | evil wind |
| 妖冶 | yāo yě | pretty and flirtatious |
| 兴妖作怪 | xīng yāo zuò guài | lit. to summon demons to create havoc (idiom) |
妖 appears in 32 compound words: 69 as the first character, 13 as the last, and 19 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 妖 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (4)
lit. to summon demons to create havoc (idiom); fig. to stir up all kinds of trouble
lit. to summon demons to create havoc (idiom); fig. to stir up all kinds of trouble
Example Sentences
她是一位坚强的妖性，独自抚养两个孩子。
tā shì yī wèi jiān qiáng de yāo xìng , dú zì fǔ yǎng liǎng gě hái zǐ .
She is a resilient woman of extraordinary nature, raising two children on her own.
...涉反渗透法遭起诉 他轰民进党执政:陆配被妖魔化
. . . shè fǎn shèn tòu fǎ zāo qǐ sù tā hōng mín jìn dǎng zhí zhèng : lù pèi bèi yāo mó huà
...Indicted under the Anti-Infiltration Act, he lambasted the DPP administration: "Spouses of mainland Chinese nationals are being demonized"
AI妖股殒落背后!美超微黑历史被挖出 财报不实...
A I yāo gǔ 殒 luò bèi hòu ! měi chāo wēi hēi lì shǐ bèi wā chū cái bào bù shí . . .
Behind the Downfall of the AI "Speculative Stock"! Supermicro's Dark Past Exposed: Misleading Financial Reports...
她打扮得妖里妖气，一副傻样！
Tā dǎban de yāoli-yāoqì, yī fù shǎ yàng!
She dresses so outrageously; it looks completely ridiculous!
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 妖 (yāo) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 妖 and 跃?
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What are common words containing 妖?
What characters sound the same as 妖 (yāo)?
Is 妖 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 妖 with real-time feedback
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