肖 meaning and stroke order
To resemble, to look like; to be like
How to write 肖, stroke by stroke
7 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
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- 7
Meaning of 肖
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- similar
- resembling
- to resemble
- to be like
How 肖 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Flesh - "in the flesh".
⺼ gives the meaning and ⺌ hints at the sound.
Radical: ⺼ (meat), shared by 176 characters on this site.
How to remember 肖
肖 (xiào) puts small strokes ⺌ on top of the flesh radical ⺼. Picture a little copy of a person's own flesh and body: something that looks just like them "in the flesh."
肖 is rarely used alone in modern speech. It appears mainly in set words like 肖像 (xiàoxiàng, portrait) and in formal phrases such as 惟妙惟肖 (wéimiào wéixiào, true to life). Example: 这幅肖像画得很像他。 (Zhè fú xiàoxiàng huà de hěn xiàng tā.) This portrait looks a lot like him.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 肖 with 消 (xiāo, to disappear) and 削 (xiāo, to peel), which share the same top part but have different tones and meanings. Also note that 肖 is fourth tone xiào in its "resemble" sense, not first tone.
Common words with 肖
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 肖像 | xiàoxiàng | portrait (painting, photo etc); (in a general sense) representation of a person | HSK 7-9 |
| 毕肖 | bìxiào | to resemble closely; to be the very image of |
肖 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 肖
Learning 肖 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 肖
How many strokes are in 肖?
肖 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 肖 mean?
肖 (xiào) means to resemble, to look like; to be like. A common word with it is 肖像 (xiàoxiàng), meaning "portrait (painting, photo etc); (in a general sense) representation of a person".
How do you pronounce 肖?
肖 is pronounced xiào, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 肖?
The radical of 肖 is ⺼, which carries the idea of "meat". Dictionaries list 肖 under this radical.
Is 肖 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 肖 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why is 肖 sometimes read xiāo?
As a surname, 肖 is commonly read xiāo, as in the name 肖战 (Xiāo Zhàn). The surname was originally written 萧, and 肖 became a popular simplified way to write it. The meaning "to resemble" stays xiào.
How does 肖 relate to the zodiac?
The word 生肖 (shēngxiào) means Chinese zodiac animal. People ask 你属什么? (Nǐ shǔ shénme?) or talk about their 生肖 to mean which animal year they were born in.