腰 meaning and stroke order
The waist and lower back; (bound form) kidney of an animal (as food); the waist of trousers or a skirt
How to write 腰, stroke by stroke
13 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 腰
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- the waist and lower back
- (bound form) kidney of an animal (as food)
- the waist of trousers or a skirt
- (metonym) money pouch; pocket
- (bound form) the middle section of an upright object (mountain, bottle etc)
How 腰 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Flesh.
⺼ gives the meaning and 要 hints at the sound.
Radical: ⺼ (meat), shared by 176 characters on this site.
How to remember 腰
腰 combines ⺼ (flesh, body part) with 要 (yào), which gives the sound. Think of the waist as the most important (要) part of your body (⺼), since it holds the upper and lower halves together.
腰 (yāo) means the waist or lower back, and it appears in words like 腰带 (yāodài, belt) and 弯腰 (wānyāo, to bend over). It can also mean the middle of something tall, as in 山腰 (shānyāo, mountainside). Example: 我腰疼。(Wǒ yāo téng.) My lower back hurts.
Common mistake: Learners often read 腰 with the fourth tone because of 要 (yào), but 腰 is first tone, yāo, like the other reading of 要 (yāo). Also do not confuse 腰 with 要 in writing; the waist always needs the ⺼ flesh side.
Common words with 腰
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
腰 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 腰
How many strokes are in 腰?
腰 is written with 13 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 腰 mean?
腰 (yāo) means the waist and lower back; (bound form) kidney of an animal (as food); the waist of trousers or a skirt. A common word with it is 腰带 (yāodài), meaning "belt".
How do you pronounce 腰?
腰 is pronounced yāo, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 腰?
The radical of 腰 is ⺼, which carries the idea of "meat". Dictionaries list 腰 under this radical.
Is 腰 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 腰 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
What does 撑腰 mean, and is it about the waist literally?
撑腰 (chēngyāo) literally means to prop up someone's waist, but it is used figuratively to mean backing someone up or giving support. For example, 有老板给他撑腰 means the boss is backing him.
Why does 腰包 mean money?
In the past people carried money in a pouch tied at the waist, so 腰包 (yāobāo) came to mean one's purse or personal money. The phrase 掏腰包 (tāo yāobāo) means to pay out of your own pocket.