潦 meaning and stroke order
To flood; puddle; dejected, careless
How to write 潦, stroke by stroke
15 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
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
Meaning of 潦
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- flooded
- heavy rain
- used in 潦草[liao2 cao3]
- used in 潦倒[liao2 dao3]
How 潦 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Water.
氵 gives the meaning and 尞 hints at the sound.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 潦
潦 is a sound-meaning character: the water radical 氵 gives the meaning, and 尞 (liáo) gives the sound. Picture water spilling everywhere after heavy rain, as messy as careless handwriting.
In modern Chinese you almost always meet 潦 read as liáo in two words: 潦草 (liáocǎo, sloppy, scrawled) and 潦倒 (liáodǎo, down and out). The lǎo reading for floods and heavy rain is mostly literary. Example: 他的字写得很潦草。(Tā de zì xiě de hěn liáocǎo.) His handwriting is very messy.
Common mistake: Many learners read 潦草 as lǎocǎo because the dictionary lists lǎo first, but the common words use liáo, second tone. Also do not confuse 潦 with 燎 (liáo, to burn) or 僚 (liáo, colleague), which share the same 尞 part but have different radicals.
Common words with 潦
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
潦 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 潦
How many strokes are in 潦?
潦 is written with 15 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 潦 mean?
潦 (lǎo) means to flood; puddle; dejected, careless. A common word with it is 潦草 (liáocǎo), meaning "slipshod; careless; slovenly; (of handwriting) scrawly; illegible".
How do you pronounce 潦?
潦 is pronounced lǎo, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 潦?
The radical of 潦 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 潦 under this radical.
Is 潦 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 潦 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 穷困潦倒 mean?
穷困潦倒 (qióngkùn liáodǎo) describes someone who is poor and down on their luck. It is a common set phrase in stories and biographies, for example about a struggling artist.
Is 潦草 only used for handwriting?
Handwriting is the most common use, but 潦草 can also describe work done carelessly. For example, 潦草了事 (liáocǎo liǎoshì) means to finish something in a rushed, sloppy way.