哨

shào

口 + 肖

HSK 2.0Level 6

HSK 3.0Level 7

Definitions

shào (noun) whistle; guard post; sentry

shào (verb) to whistle; to stand guard

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 肖 represents the sound.

Semantic: 口 Phonetic: 肖

About

哨 (shào) is a phono-semantic compound combining the semantic radical 口 (kǒu) "mouth" with the phonetic 肖 (xiào). Its original meaning is whistling, or the sound produced by blowing air through the mouth or an instrument. Over time, the sense expanded into military and security contexts to refer to a sentry, guard post, or patrol, since sentries historically used whistles, loud mouth-blown signals, to give warnings or communicate across distances while on watch.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我喜欢吹口哨。

Wǒ xǐhuān chuī kǒushào.

I like to whistle.

哨兵站在门口。

Shàobīng zhàn zài ménkǒu.

The sentry stands at the door.

山上有一个哨所。

Shān shàng yǒu yī gè shàosuǒ.

There is a guard post on the mountain.

他用哨子发出信号。

Tā yòng shàozi fāchū xìnhào.

He used a whistle to give a signal.

哨声在夜晚格外清晰。

Shàoshēng zài yèwǎn géwài qīngxī.

The whistle sound is especially clear at night.

边境哨所的条件很艰苦。

Biānjìng shàosuǒ de tiáojiàn hěn jiānkǔ.

The conditions at the border guard post are very tough.

教练吹哨示意比赛开始。

Jiàoliàn chuī shào shìyì bǐsài kāishǐ.

The coach blew the whistle to signal the start of the match.

侦察哨发现了敌军的动向。

Zhēnchá shào fāxiàn le díjūn de dòngxiàng.

The reconnaissance sentry detected the enemy's movements.

Related Characters

Component: 口

Component: 肖

哨