晓 meaning and stroke order
Dawn; clear, explicit, known
How to write 晓, 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 晓
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- dawn
- daybreak
- to know
- to let sb know
- to make explicit
How 晓 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Sun.
日 gives the meaning and 尧 hints at the sound.
Radical: 日 (sun), shared by 116 characters on this site.
How to remember 晓
The sun 日 (rì) on the left tells you this is about light, and 尧 (yáo) on the right gives the sound. When the sun comes up at dawn, things become clear, so you come to know them.
晓 rarely stands alone in modern speech. It appears in words like 晓得 (xiǎode, to know, common in southern and colloquial speech), 揭晓 (jiēxiǎo, to announce results), and 破晓 (pòxiǎo, daybreak). Example: 比赛结果明天揭晓。(Bǐsài jiéguǒ míngtiān jiēxiǎo.) The results of the competition will be announced tomorrow.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 晓 with 烧 (shāo, to burn) and 浇 (jiāo, to pour), which share the 尧 part. Check the left side: 日 for dawn and knowing, 火 for fire, 氵 for water. Also, the 尧 part has no dot at the top right, so do not write it like 戈.
Common words with 晓
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
晓 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 晓
How many strokes are in 晓?
晓 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 晓 mean?
晓 (xiǎo) means dawn; clear, explicit, known. A common word with it is 晓得 (xiǎode), meaning "to know".
How do you pronounce 晓?
晓 is pronounced xiǎo, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 晓?
The radical of 晓 is 日, which carries the idea of "sun". Dictionaries list 晓 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 晓?
The traditional form of 晓 is 曉. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 晓 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 晓 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 晓 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 晓得 the same as 知道?
Both mean to know. 知道 (zhīdao) is standard everywhere. 晓得 sounds more colloquial or regional, and is common in southern dialect areas and in casual speech.
What does 天晓得 mean and when do people say it?
天晓得 (tiānxiǎode) literally means Heaven knows. People use it to say nobody knows or to show doubt, as in 天晓得他什么时候来 (Heaven knows when he will come).