枭 meaning and stroke order
Owl; evil; brave
How to write 枭, stroke by stroke
8 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
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Meaning of 枭
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- owl
- valiant
- trafficker
How 枭 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A bird 鸟 roosting in a tree 木.
Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.
How to remember 枭
枭 (xiāo) shows a bird 鸟 perched on top of a tree 木. Picture an owl sitting high in a tree at night, watching everything below.
Today 枭 rarely means a real owl. It mostly appears in words for ruthless, powerful people, especially 毒枭 (dúxiāo), drug lord. Example: 警方抓住了一个大毒枭。(Jǐngfāng zhuā zhù le yí gè dà dúxiāo.) The police caught a major drug lord.
Common mistake: Learners often write 鸟 in full on top. In 枭 the bird's bottom hook stroke is left out so the tree 木 can fit underneath. Compare 岛 (dǎo), where a shortened 鸟 sits over 山.
Common words with 枭
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 毒枭 | dúxiāo | drug lord |
Questions about 枭
How many strokes are in 枭?
枭 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 枭 mean?
枭 (xiāo) means owl; evil; brave. A common word with it is 毒枭 (dúxiāo), meaning "drug lord".
How do you pronounce 枭?
枭 is pronounced xiāo, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 枭?
The radical of 枭 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 枭 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 枭?
The traditional form of 枭 is 梟. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 枭 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the usual word for owl in modern Chinese?
Everyday Chinese uses 猫头鹰 (māotóuyīng), literally cat-head eagle. 枭 for owl is mostly found in older or literary writing.
Why does 枭 have both negative and positive meanings like evil and brave?
The dictionary lists it for evil people and also for valiant, fierce people. The common thread is someone bold and formidable, so the context decides whether the word praises or condemns. In modern words like 毒枭 the sense is clearly negative.