霄 meaning and stroke order
Clouds, mist; sky
How to write 霄, 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.
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Meaning of 霄
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- firmament
- heaven
How 霄 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. To look like 肖 rain 雨; 肖 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 雨 (rain), shared by 42 characters on this site.
How to remember 霄
霄 puts rain 雨 on top of 肖 (xiāo), which looks like the sky where rain comes from and also gives the sound xiāo. Think of the high place above the rain clouds: the sky.
霄 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. It mostly appears in literary or set phrases about the high sky, especially 云霄 (yúnxiāo). Example: 欢呼声响彻云霄。(Huānhū shēng xiǎngchè yúnxiāo.) The cheers rang up to the skies.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 霄 with 宵 (xiāo, night), as in 元宵 (yuánxiāo). Both are pronounced xiāo with 肖 underneath, but 霄 has the rain radical 雨 for sky, while 宵 has the roof 宀 for night.
Common words with 霄
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 云霄 | Yúnxiāo | (the) skies | |
| 云霄飞车 | yúnxiāofēichē | roller coaster |
Questions about 霄
How many strokes are in 霄?
霄 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 霄 mean?
霄 (xiāo) means clouds, mist; sky. A common word with it is 云霄 (Yúnxiāo), meaning "(the) skies".
How do you pronounce 霄?
霄 is pronounced xiāo, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 霄?
The radical of 霄 is 雨, which carries the idea of "rain". Dictionaries list 霄 under this radical.
Why does 云霄飞车 mean roller coaster?
Literally it means a vehicle flying through the clouds and sky. The name describes how the ride climbs high and races along. It is common in Taiwan, while mainland China usually says 过山车 (guòshānchē).
What does 九霄云外 mean?
九霄云外 (jiǔxiāo yún wài) literally means beyond the ninth heaven and the clouds, so extremely far away. It is often used as 抛到九霄云外, meaning to completely forget something or throw it out of your mind.