啸 meaning and stroke order
To roar, to howl; to scream; to whistle
How to write 啸, stroke by stroke
11 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
Meaning of 啸
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (of people) to whistle
- (of birds and animals) to screech; to howl; to roar
How 啸 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mouth.
口 gives the meaning and 肃 hints at the sound.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 啸
啸 is a mouth 口 next to 肃 (sù), which gives the sound. Picture a mouth opening wide to let out a long, sharp howl or whistle.
啸 is mostly used in set words rather than alone. 海啸 (hǎixiào) means tsunami, and 呼啸 (hūxiào) describes wind, bullets, or vehicles whistling or roaring past. Example: 寒风呼啸。(Hán fēng hūxiào.) The cold wind howls.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 啸 (xiào) with 笑 (xiào, to laugh) because they sound the same, so writing 海笑 for tsunami is a common error. Also keep the right side as 肃, not 萧 (xiāo).
Common words with 啸
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 海啸 | hǎixiào | tsunami | HSK 7-9 |
| 呼啸 | hūxiào | to whistle; to scream; to whiz |
啸 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 啸
How many strokes are in 啸?
啸 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 啸 mean?
啸 (xiào) means to roar, to howl; to scream; to whistle. A common word with it is 海啸 (hǎixiào), meaning "tsunami".
How do you pronounce 啸?
啸 is pronounced xiào, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 啸?
The radical of 啸 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 啸 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 啸?
The traditional form of 啸 is 嘯. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 啸 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 啸 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 啸 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can 啸 be used for animals?
Yes. It describes a long cry from animals, as in 虎啸 (hǔxiào), a tiger's roar, or 猿啸 (yuánxiào), the howl of apes. It often appears in literary or descriptive writing.
Is 啸 used for whistling a tune in everyday speech?
Not usually. For whistling in daily life people say 吹口哨 (chuī kǒushào). The sense of 啸 as a person whistling is mostly found in classical or literary texts.