妖 meaning and stroke order
Strange, weird, supernatural; bewitching, enchanting, seductive
How to write 妖, stroke by stroke
7 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
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Meaning of 妖
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- goblin
- witch
- devil
- bewitching
- enchanting
- monster
How 妖 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Woman.
女 gives the meaning and 夭 hints at the sound.
Radical: 女 (woman), shared by 156 characters on this site.
How to remember 妖
妖 is pictophonetic: 女 (woman) on the left gives the meaning, and 夭 (yāo) on the right gives the sound. Picture a bewitching woman 女 who is secretly a 夭-sounding goblin, a 妖 (yāo).
妖 rarely appears alone in modern Chinese. It shows up in words for monsters and demons, like 妖怪 (yāoguài) and 妖魔 (yāomó), and in words for a seductive woman, like 妖精 (yāojing). Example: 孙悟空打败了很多妖怪。(Sūn Wùkōng dǎbàile hěn duō yāoguài.) Sun Wukong defeated many monsters.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 妖 with 娇 (jiāo, delicate, pampered), since both have 女 on the left and a similar-looking right side. Remember that 妖 uses 夭, which has only four strokes and no 乔 on top.
Common words with 妖
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 妖怪 | yāoguài | monster; devil | HSK 7-9 |
| 妖精 | yāojing | evil spirit; alluring woman | |
| 小妖 | xiǎoyāo | small demon | |
| 妖魔 | yāomó | demon | |
| 人妖 | rényāo | transvestite; transsexual | |
| 小妖精 | xiǎoyāojīng | goblin; hussy | |
| 妖孽 | yāoniè | evildoer | |
| 妖女 | yāonǚ | beautiful woman |
妖 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 妖
How many strokes are in 妖?
妖 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 妖 mean?
妖 (yāo) means strange, weird, supernatural; bewitching, enchanting, seductive. A common word with it is 妖怪 (yāoguài), meaning "monster; devil".
How do you pronounce 妖?
妖 is pronounced yāo, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 妖?
The radical of 妖 is 女, which carries the idea of "woman". Dictionaries list 妖 under this radical.
Is 妖 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 妖 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 人妖 (rényāo) a polite word?
No. 人妖 is an old, offensive term for transgender or cross-dressing people, so avoid using it about real people. More respectful terms are 跨性别者 (kuàxìngbié zhě) for transgender people and 变装者 (biànzhuāng zhě) for cross-dressers.
Is calling someone 妖精 or 小妖精 an insult?
It depends on context. Said with affection it can be a teasing way to call a woman charming or mischievous. Said with contempt it means something like hussy or homewrecker, so be careful using it.