幽 (yōu): remote, hidden away, secluded
幽 (yōu) is a Chinese character meaning “remote.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 山 (structural), 幺 (structural) and 幺 (structural). It ranks #1625 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 幽 small niches 幺 in the mountainside 山; 幺 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 幺 (tiny) appears in many related characters such as 乡 (xiāng, country or countryside), 幼 (yòu, young), 幻 (huàn, fantasy).
Definitions
- remote
- hidden away
- secluded
Etymology & Origin
ideographicSmall niches 幺 in the mountainside 山; 幺 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿻山⿰幺幺 (layout: overlay)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 幽 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 幽
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 幽灵noun | yōu líng | specter |
| 幽默感noun | yōu mò gǎn | sense of humor |
| 幽会verb | yōu huì | (usually of lovers) to rendezvous in secret |
| 幽谷noun | yōu gǔ | deep valley |
| 幽僻adjective | yōu pì | secluded |
| 幽暗adjective | yōu àn | gloom |
| 幽静adjective | yōu jìng | quiet |
| 幽深adjective | yōu shēn | serene and hidden in depth or distance |
| 幽雅adjective | yōu yǎ | serene and elegant (of a place) |
| 幽魂noun | yōu hún | ghost |
| 幽门noun | yōu mén | pylorus (anatomy) |
| 幽禁verb | yōu jìn | to place under house arrest |
| 幽怨noun | yōu yuàn | hidden bitterness |
| 幽幽adjective | yōu yōu | faint |
| 幽香noun | yōu xiāng | delicate fragrance |
幽 appears in 39 compound words: 85 as the first character, 3 as the last, and 13 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 幽 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
学习幽字需要反复练习，才能写得工整。
xué xí yōu zì xū yāo fǎn fù liàn xí , cái néng xiě dé gōng zhěng .
Mastering the character "幽" requires repeated practice to achieve neat and precise writing.
2招远离胃癌 医:元凶“幽门杆菌”
2 zhāo yuǎn lí wèi ái yī : yuán xiōng yōu mén gān jūn
2 Tips to Prevent Stomach Cancer: Doctors Say the Culprit Is "Helicobacter pylori"
新闻分析/总统二二八谈和解 却又提党国幽灵...
xīn wén fēn xī zǒng tǒng èr èr bā tán hé jiě què yòu tí dǎng guó yōu líng . . .
News Analysis/President 228 talks about reconciliation but mentions the ghost of the party-state...
泰国斯米兰海底珊瑚礁缠“幽灵渔网” 潜水员清除逾2吨废弃渔具
tài guó sī mǐ lán hǎi de 珊 瑚 jiāo chán yōu líng yú wǎng qián shuǐ yuán qīng chú yú 2 dūn fèi qì yú jù
Divers in the submarine coral reef of Similan, Thailand, wrapped in "ghost fishing nets" Divers removed more than 2 tons of discarded fishing gear
整治“幽灵外卖” 网络餐饮服务经营者食品安全主体...
zhěng zhì yōu líng wài mài wǎng lào cān yǐn fú wù jīng yíng zhě shí pǐn ān quán zhǔ tǐ . . .
Rectify the "ghost takeaway" online catering service operator food safety subject...
幽门杆菌粪便检测 吃成药恐测不准
yōu mén gān jūn fèn biàn jiǎn cè chī chéng yào kǒng cè bù zhǔn
Helicobacter stool test Eating over-the-counter medicine may not be accurate
你班上最幽默的人是谁？
Nǐ bānshàng zuì yōumò de rén shì shéi?
Who's the funniest person in your class?
他没有任何幽默感。
Tā méiyǒu rènhé yōumògǎn.
He has no sense of humor.
可惜他是一个完全没有幽默感的人。
Kěxī tā shì yī gè wánquán méiyǒu yōumògǎn de rén.
It is a pity that he has no sense of humor.
我们的老师非常有幽默感。
Wǒmen de lǎoshī fēicháng yǒu yōumògǎn.
Our teacher has a wonderful sense of humor.
Character Family
幺 Radical Family — Characters sharing the tiny radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 幽 (yōu) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 幽 have?
What is the radical of 幽?
What are the components of 幽?
What are common words containing 幽?
What characters sound the same as 幽 (yōu)?
Is 幽 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 幽 with real-time feedback
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