幺 meaning and stroke order
One; tiny, small
How to write 幺, stroke by stroke
3 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
Meaning of 幺
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- youngest
- most junior
- tiny
- one (unambiguous spoken form when spelling out numbers, esp. on telephone or in military)
- one or ace on dice or dominoes
- variant of 吆[yao1], to shout
How to remember 幺
幺 (yāo) looks like a tiny twisted thread, a small coil of silk. Think of it as the smallest strand, so it means tiny, youngest, or the number one.
The most common everyday use is saying 幺 (yāo) instead of 一 (yī) when reading out phone numbers, room numbers, or bus routes, because yī can be misheard. It also appears in words like 幺儿 (yāo'ér), the youngest child, used in some regional speech. Example: 我的房间是幺零幺。(Wǒ de fángjiān shì yāo líng yāo.) My room is 101.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 幺 with 么 (me), the character in 什么 (shénme). Some charts list 么 as a traditional form of 幺, but in everyday simplified Chinese they are different words, so write 什么 with 么 and use 幺 for the spoken number one. Also, do not use 幺 when counting objects. Say 一个 (yí gè), not 幺个.
幺 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 幺
Learning 幺 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 幺
How many strokes are in 幺?
幺 is written with 3 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 幺 mean?
幺 (yāo) means one; tiny, small.
How do you pronounce 幺?
幺 is pronounced yāo, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the traditional form of 幺?
The traditional form of 幺 is 么. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 幺 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Why do Chinese people say yāo instead of yī for the number one?
Yī can sound like qī (seven) when spoken quickly or over a bad phone line. Yāo sounds clearly different, so it is used when reading digits one by one, such as phone numbers, flight numbers, and in military radio speech.
Can I use 幺 when saying larger numbers like 11 or 100?
Usually no. For numbers read as amounts, such as 十一 (shíyī) or 一百 (yìbǎi), you use yī. Yāo is for reading digits one at a time, like 110 read as yāo yāo líng for the police number.