躁 meaning and stroke order
Tense, irritable; rash, hot-tempered
How to write 躁, stroke by stroke
20 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
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
Meaning of 躁
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- impatient; hot-tempered
How 躁 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Foot.
足 gives the meaning and 喿 hints at the sound.
Radical: 足 (foot), shared by 119 characters on this site.
How to remember 躁
躁 has the foot radical 足 on the left, so picture someone who cannot keep their feet still, tapping and pacing because they are impatient. The right side 喿 gives the sound zào.
躁 rarely appears alone. It shows up in two-character words about restless or bad-tempered moods, such as 烦躁 (fánzào), 急躁 (jízào) and 暴躁 (bàozào). Example: 他今天很烦躁。(Tā jīntiān hěn fánzào.) He is very irritable today.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 躁 with 燥 (zào, dry), which has the fire radical 火, and with 噪 (zào, noise), which has the mouth radical 口. All three share 喿 and the same sound, so let the radical tell you the meaning: foot for restless, fire for dry, mouth for noise.
Common words with 躁
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
躁 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 躁
How many strokes are in 躁?
躁 is written with 20 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 躁 mean?
躁 (zào) means tense, irritable; rash, hot-tempered. A common word with it is 暴躁 (bàozào), meaning "irascible; irritable".
How do you pronounce 躁?
躁 is pronounced zào, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 躁?
The radical of 躁 is 足, which carries the idea of "foot". Dictionaries list 躁 under this radical.
Is 躁 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 躁 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 急躁 and 暴躁?
急躁 (jízào) means impatient and hasty, wanting things done right away. 暴躁 (bàozào) is stronger and means quick to explode in anger. Someone can be 急躁 without shouting, but 暴躁 suggests a violent temper.
What does 浮躁 mean when people describe society or young people?
浮躁 (fúzào) means restless and shallow, unable to settle down and focus on long-term work. It is a common criticism in Chinese media, as in 社会很浮躁 (shèhuì hěn fúzào), society is very restless and impatient.