腰 (yāo): waist
腰 (yāo) is a Chinese character meaning “waist.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of ⺼ (semantic) and 要 (phonetic). It ranks #1449 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 腰 flesh. Its radical form 月 (moon) appears in many related characters such as 月 (yuè, moon, month), 有 (yǒu, to have), 朋 (péng, friend).
Definitions
- waist
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 腰 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 腰带 | yāo dài | belt |
| 弯腰 | wān yāo | to stoop |
| 腰部 | yāo bù | waist |
| 腰包 | yāo bāo | waist purse (old) |
| 掏腰包 | tāo yāo bāo | to dip into one's pocket |
| 腰椎 | yāo zhuī | lumbar vertebra (lower backbone) |
| 腰果 | yāo guǒ | cashew nuts |
| 撑腰 | chēng yāo | to support |
| 腰围 | yāo wéi | waist measurement |
| 裤腰带 | kù yāo dài | waistband |
| 腰缠万贯 | yāo chán wàn guàn | lit. ten thousand strings of cash in money belt (idiom) |
| 腰身 | yāo shēn | waist |
| 腰杆 | yāo gǎn | (a person's) back (usu. as sth one keeps straight) |
| 懒腰 | lǎn yāo | a stretch (of one's body) |
| 腰子 | yāo zi | kidney |
腰 appears in 91 compound words: 32 as the first character, 36 as the last, and 32 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 腰 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (8)
to uncritically and enthusiastically support someone; (specifically) to be excessively but superficially obsequious
lit. ten thousand strings of cash in money belt (idiom); carrying lots of money; extremely wealthy; loaded
to uncritically and enthusiastically support someone; (specifically) to be excessively but superficially obsequious
Example Sentences
久坐办公室容易导致腰酸背痛，建议每小时起来活动一下。
Jiǔ zuò bàngōngshì róngyì dǎozhì yāo suān bèi tòng, jiànyì měi xiǎoshí qǐlái huódòng yíxià.
Sitting in the office for long periods easily causes back pain; it's recommended to get up and move every hour.
五矿证券成牛市券商“掉队生”:去年净利腰斩、投行评级跌至C类-FX168
wǔ kuàng zhèng quàn chéng niú shì quàn shāng diào duì shēng : qù nián jìng lì yāo zhǎn , tóu háng píng jí diē zhì C lèi F X 1 6 8
Minmetals Securities has become a bull market brokerage "straggler": last year's net profit was cut in half, and the investment bank's rating fell to Class C-FX168
半年内股价腰斩,泰德医药(03880)年度盈喜利好也...
bàn nián nèi gǔ jià yāo zhǎn , tài dé yī yào ( 0 3 8 8 0 ) nián dù yíng xǐ lì hǎo yě . . .
The stock price has been cut in half a year, and Tide Pharmaceutical's (03880) annual profit is also good...
高雄大寮毒駕衝撞警車 攔腰撞斷電桿男女就逮
gāo xióng dà 寮 dú 駕 衝 zhuàng jǐng 車 攔 yāo zhuàng 斷 電 桿 nán nǚ jiù dǎi
[Translation pending - quota exceeded]
長假結束腰背痛肩頸僵假日症候群? 聯新國際:核心斷...
長 jiǎ 結 shù yāo bèi tòng jiān 頸 jiāng jiǎ rì zhèng hòu qún ? 聯 xīn 國 際 hé xīn 斷 . . .
Post-Holiday Syndrome: Back Pain and Stiff Shoulders After the Long Break? Lianxin International: Core Breakdown...
緹岸開放式銀主盤腰斬一半 215萬易手6年蒸發217萬 投...
緹 àn 開 fàng shì 銀 zhǔ 盤 yāo 斬 yī bàn 萬 yì shǒu nián zhēng 發 萬 tóu . . .
Tianan Open-Plan Bank-Owned Property Halves in Value Transaction at HK$2.15 Million Value Evaporates by HK$2.17 Million Over Six Years Investment...
猫弓起背，伸了个懒腰。
Māo gōng qǐ bèi, shēn le gè lǎnyāo.
The cat arched its back and stretched itself.
汤姆弯下腰，捧起了一把沙子。
Tāngmǔ wān xià yāo, pěng qǐ le yī bǎ shāzi.
Tom bent down and picked up a handful of sand.
你认为汤姆的腰围是多少？
Nǐ rènwéi Tāngmǔ de yāowéi shì duōshao?
What do you think Tom's waist size is?
他从腰部到膝盖都湿了。
Tā cóng yāobù dào xīgài dōu shī le.
He got wet from the waist to the knees.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 腰 (yāo) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 腰 have?
What is the radical of 腰?
What are the components of 腰?
What are common words containing 腰?
What characters sound the same as 腰 (yāo)?
Is 腰 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 腰 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.