瑶 (yáo): Yao ethnic group of southwest China and southeast Asia, surname Yao

瑶 (yáo) is a Chinese character meaning “yao ethnic group of southwest china and southeast asia.” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 王 (semantic) and 䍃 (phonetic). It ranks #4617 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 瑶 jade. Its radical form 王 (jade) appears in many related characters such as 现 (xiàn, to appear), 球 (qiú, ball used for playing games (variant of 球)), 环 (huán, ring).

Spoken pronunciation

Radical: 王 jade14 strokesFrequency #4617王 semantic 䍃 phonetic

Definitions

Yao ethnic group of southwest China and southeast Asia
surname Yao

Etymology & Origin

瑶

pictophoneticjade

Decomposition: ⿰王䍃 (layout: left-right)

Components:王semantic 䍃phonetic

Stroke Order

Practice writing 瑶 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
瑶池proper-noun	yáo chí	the Jade lake on Mount Kunlun, residence of Xi Wangmu 西王母
都安瑶族自治县	dū ān yáo zú zì zhì xiàn	Du'an Yao Autonomous County, in Hechi City 河池市, Guangxi
大化瑶族自治县	dà huà yáo zú zì zhì xiàn	Dahua Yao Autonomous County, in Hechi City 河池市, Guangxi
巴马瑶族自治县	bā mǎ yáo zú zì zhì xiàn	Bama Yao Autonomous County, in Hechi City 河池市, Guangxi
连南瑶族自治县	lián nán yáo zú zì zhì xiàn	Liannan Yao Autonomous County, in Qingyuan City 清遠市\|清远市, Guangdong
河口瑶族自治县proper-noun	hé kǒu yáo zú zì zhì xiàn	Hekou Yao Autonomous County, in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture 紅河哈尼族彝族自治州\|红河哈尼族彝族自治州[Hong2 he2 Ha1 ni2 zu2 ...
连山壮族瑶族自治县proper-noun	lián shān zhuàng zú yáo zú zì zhì xiàn	Lianshan Zhuang and Yao Autonomous County, in Qingyuan City 清遠市\|清远市, Guangdong
金秀瑶族自治县	jīn xiù yáo zú zì zhì xiàn	Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County, in Laibin City 來賓市\|来宾市, Guangxi
江华瑶族自治县proper-noun	jiāng huá yáo zú zì zhì xiàn	Jianghua Yao Autonomous County, in Yongzhou City 永州市, Hunan
金平苗族瑶族傣族自治县	jīn píng miáo zú yáo zú dǎi zú zì zhì xiàn	Jinping Miao, Yao, and Dai Autonomous County, in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture 紅河哈尼族彝族自治州\|红河哈尼族彝族自治州[Hong2...
恭城瑶族自治县	gōng chéng yáo zú zì zhì xiàn	Gongcheng Yao Autonomous County, in Guilin City 桂林市, Guangxi
富川瑶族自治县proper-noun	fù chuān yáo zú zì zhì xiàn	Fuchuan Yao Autonomous County, in Hezhou City 賀州市\|贺州市, Guangxi
乳源瑶族自治县	rǔ yuán yáo zú zì zhì xiàn	Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County, in Shaoguan City 韶關市\|韶关市, Guangdong
瑶海区	yáo hǎi qū	Yaohai, a district of Hefei City 合肥市, Anhui
瑶海proper-noun	yáo hǎi	see 瑤海區\|瑶海区

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

瑶 appears in 19 compound words: 32 as the first character, 5 as the last, and 63 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

了解瑶字的来源，有助于理解中国文化。

le jiě Yáo zì de lái yuán , yǒu zhù yú lǐ jiě zhōng guó wén huà .

Understanding the origin of the character "Yao" helps in understanding Chinese culture.

EttodayMar 2026

韩国瑜要求“服装仪容” 吴思瑶:台湾是什么,就勇敢穿出来

hán guó 瑜 yāo qiú fú zhuāng yí róng wú sī Yáo : tái wān shì shén má , jiù yǒng gǎn chuān chū lái

Han Kuo-yu calls for "proper attire and grooming"; Wu Siyao: "Be bold and dress in a way that reflects who Taiwan is"

光明网_新闻视野、文化视角、思想深度、理论高度Mar 2026

大瑶山隧道里的“美容大戏”

dà Yáo shān suì dào lǐ de měi róng dà xì

The "Beauty Makeover" Inside the Dayu Mountain Tunnel

風傳媒Mar 2026

林庭瑶专栏:川普护航召集令,赖总统登舰亲征?

lín tíng Yáo zhuān lán : chuān pǔ hù háng zhào jí lìng , lài zǒng tǒng dēng jiàn qīn zhēng ?

Lin Tingyao's Column: Trump Escorts the Mobilization Order; Will President Lai Board the Ship to Lead the Charge?

LtnMar 2026

郭书瑶飘婶味?网崩溃“我的女神怎么了” 本人亲...

guō shū Yáo piāo 婶 wèi ? wǎng bēng kuì wǒ de nǚ shén zěn má le běn rén qīn . . .

Guo Shuyao looking like an auntie? Netizens in an uproar: "What happened to my goddess?" She herself...

三立新聞網Feb 2026

李栋旭见面会甜互动郭书瑶笑嗨嗨全网炸

lǐ dòng xù jiàn miàn huì tián hù dòng guō shū Yáo xiào 嗨嗨 quán wǎng zhà

Lee Dong-wook and Guo Shuyao’s Sweet Interaction at Fan Meeting Has the Internet Abuzz

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 瑶 (yáo) mean in Chinese?

瑶 (yáo) primarily means "yao ethnic group of southwest china and southeast asia." It is not part of the HSK 3.0 syllabus. It ranks #4617 in character frequency.

How many strokes does 瑶 have?

瑶 is written with 14 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.

What is the radical of 瑶?

The radical associated with 瑶 is 王 (jade). This radical appears in many characters related to jade.

What are the components of 瑶?

瑶 is composed of: 王 (semantic), 䍃 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰王䍃 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 瑶?

Common words with 瑶 include: 瑶池 (yáo chí, "the Jade lake on Mount Kunlun, residence of Xi Wangmu 西王母"); 都安瑶族自治县 (dū ān yáo zú zì zhì xiàn, "Du'an Yao Autonomous County, in Hechi City 河池市, Guangxi"); 大化瑶族自治县 (dà huà yáo zú zì zhì xiàn, "Dahua Yao Autonomous County, in Hechi City 河池市, Guangxi"); 巴马瑶族自治县 (bā mǎ yáo zú zì zhì xiàn, "Bama Yao Autonomous County, in Hechi City 河池市, Guangxi"); 连南瑶族自治县 (lián nán yáo zú zì zhì xiàn, "Liannan Yao Autonomous County, in Qingyuan City 清遠市|清远市, Guangdong"). There are over 19 compound words containing this character.

What characters sound the same as 瑶 (yáo)?

Several characters share the pronunciation yáo: 摇 (to shake), 遥 ((bound form) distant), 谣 (popular ballad), 钥 (key). Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.

Is 瑶 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

No. The simplified form is 瑶 and the traditional form is 瑤.

Practice writing 瑶 with real-time feedback

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