奥 meaning and stroke order
Mysterious, obscure, profound; used in transliterations
How to write 奥, stroke by stroke
12 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 奥
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- obscure
- mysterious
How 奥 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A person 大 discovering a house 宀 full of rice 米.
Radical: 大 (big), shared by 46 characters on this site.
How to remember 奥
Picture a person 大 stepping into a house 宀 and finding it secretly packed with rice 米. What is hidden deep inside the house is 奥 (ào), something mysterious and profound.
奥 rarely stands alone. It appears in words like 深奥 (shēn'ào, profound) and 奥秘 (àomì, mystery), and in transliterations of foreign names. Example: 他每天看奥运会。(Tā měitiān kàn Àoyùnhuì.) He watches the Olympics every day.
Common mistake: Learners often write the top part as 宀 with a plain 米 under it and forget that 米 sits inside a frame that wraps around it. Also do not confuse 奥 (ào) with 澳 (ào), which has the water radical 氵 and is used in 澳大利亚 (Àodàlìyà, Australia) and 澳门 (Àomén, Macau).
Common words with 奥
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
奥 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 奥
Learning 奥 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 奥
How many strokes are in 奥?
奥 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 奥 mean?
奥 (ào) means mysterious, obscure, profound; used in transliterations. A common word with it is 奥运会 (Àoyùnhuì), meaning "Olympic Games; the Olympics (abbr. for 奧林匹克運動會|奥林匹克运动会[Ao4 lin2 pi3 ke4 Yun4 dong4 hui4])".
How do you pronounce 奥?
奥 is pronounced ào, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 奥?
The radical of 奥 is 大, which carries the idea of "big". Dictionaries list 奥 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 奥?
The traditional form of 奥 is 奧. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 奥 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 奥 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 奥 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does 奥 appear in so many country and brand names?
Because it is used for its sound ào in transliterations. For example, 奥地利 (Àodìlì) is Austria, and 奥运会 comes from 奥林匹克 (Àolínpǐkè), Olympic.
What is the difference between 深奥 and 奥秘?
深奥 (shēn'ào) is an adjective meaning hard to understand, as in a deep book or theory. 奥秘 (àomì) is a noun meaning a mystery or secret, as in 宇宙的奥秘 (yǔzhòu de àomì), the mysteries of the universe.