遥 meaning and stroke order
Distant, remote
How to write 遥, 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 遥
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) distant; remote; far away
How 遥 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Walk.
辶 gives the meaning and 䍃 hints at the sound.
Radical: 辶 (to walk), shared by 131 characters on this site.
How to remember 遥
遥 is pictophonetic: the walking radical 辶 gives the meaning of travel, and 䍃 (yáo) gives the sound. Picture yourself walking a long, long road to reach something far away.
遥 is a bound form, so it rarely stands alone and usually appears in words like 遥远 (yáoyuǎn, distant) and 遥控器 (yáokòngqì, remote control). Example: 我的家乡很遥远。(Wǒ de jiāxiāng hěn yáoyuǎn.) My hometown is very far away.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 遥 with 摇 (yáo, to shake) and 谣 (yáo, rumor), which share the same sound part. Only 遥 has the walking radical 辶, which signals distance.
Common words with 遥
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 遥远 | yáoyuǎn | distant; remote | HSK 7-9 |
| 遥控 | yáokòng | to direct operations from a remote location; to remotely control | HSK 7-9 |
| 逍遥法外 | xiāoyáofǎwài | unfettered and beyond the law (idiom); evading retribution; getting away with it (e.g. cri | |
| 遥控器 | yáokòngqì | a remote control | |
| 逍遥 | xiāoyáo | free and unfettered | |
| 遥不可及 | yáobùkějí | unattainable; far-fetched |
遥 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 遥
How many strokes are in 遥?
遥 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 遥 mean?
遥 (yáo) means distant, remote. A common word with it is 遥远 (yáoyuǎn), meaning "distant; remote".
How do you pronounce 遥?
遥 is pronounced yáo, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 遥?
The radical of 遥 is 辶, which carries the idea of "to walk". Dictionaries list 遥 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 遥?
The traditional form of 遥 is 遙. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 遥 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 遥 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 遥 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can I say 很遥 to mean very far?
No. 遥 is a bound form and does not work alone in modern speech. Say 很远 (hěn yuǎn) or 很遥远 (hěn yáoyuǎn) instead.
What is the difference between 遥远 and 远?
远 (yuǎn) is the everyday word for far. 遥远 (yáoyuǎn) sounds more formal or poetic and often suggests great distance in space or time, as in 遥远的未来 (the distant future).