宵 meaning and stroke order
Night, evening, darkness
How to write 宵, stroke by stroke
10 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 宵
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- night
How 宵 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Roof.
宀 gives the meaning and 肖 hints at the sound.
Radical: 宀 (roof), shared by 67 characters on this site.
How to remember 宵
宵 is a pictophonetic character: the roof 宀 on top points to staying under a roof at night, and 肖 (xiào) below gives the sound xiāo. Picture everyone back under their roofs when night falls.
宵 rarely appears alone in modern Chinese. It shows up in set words like 通宵 (tōngxiāo, all night), 宵禁 (xiāojìn, curfew), and 夜宵 (yèxiāo, late-night snack). Example: 我们昨天通宵学习。(Wǒmen zuótiān tōngxiāo xuéxí.) We studied all night yesterday.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 宵 (xiāo) with 消 (xiāo, to disappear) because they sound the same and share 肖. Remember that 宵 has the roof 宀 for night at home, while 消 has the water radical 氵.
Common words with 宵
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
宵 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 宵
How many strokes are in 宵?
宵 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 宵 mean?
宵 (xiāo) means night, evening, darkness. A common word with it is 通宵 (tōngxiāo), meaning "all night; throughout the night".
How do you pronounce 宵?
宵 is pronounced xiāo, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 宵?
The radical of 宵 is 宀, which carries the idea of "roof". Dictionaries list 宵 under this radical.
Is 宵 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 宵 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 夜宵 and 宵夜?
Both mean a late-night snack and are used interchangeably. 夜宵 (yèxiāo) is more common in mainland usage, while 宵夜 (xiāoyè) is common in southern China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.
Why is the Lantern Festival called 元宵节?
元宵节 (Yuánxiāo Jié) falls on the 15th night of the first lunar month, the first full moon night of the year. 元 refers to the first, and 宵 means night. People also eat sweet rice balls called 元宵 (yuánxiāo) that day.