Definitions

yáo (adjective) handsome; good-looking

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character 姚 is a phono-semantic compound, combining the semantic radical 女 (nǚ), meaning woman, with the phonetic component 兆 (zhào), meaning omen or million. Originally, it functioned as an adjective meaning handsome, elegant, or beautiful, often describing a person's appearance. This early sense connects aesthetic grace to the female radical. Today, its primary use is as a prominent Chinese surname, one of the ancient ancestral names, while its original adjectival meaning has become largely obsolete.

Etymology Hide

Bronze etymology image
Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)
Bronze etymology image
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn (~700 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

明是一名篮球运动员。

Yáo Míng shì yì míng lánqiú yùndòngyuán.

Yao Ming is a basketball player.

我们班的同学很优秀。

Wǒmen bān de Yáo tóngxué hěn yōuxiù.

Classmate Yao in our class is excellent.

女士的公司发展很快。

Yáo nǚshì de gōngsī fāzhǎn hěn kuài.

Ms. Yao's company is developing rapidly.

这个故事的主人公姓

Zhège gùshi de zhǔréngōng xìng Yáo.

The protagonist of this story has the surname Yao.

明的身高超过了两米二。

Yáo Míng de shēngāo chāoguò le liǎng mǐ èr.

Yao Ming's height exceeds 2.2 meters.

历史学家正在研究姓的起源。

Lìshǐxuéjiā zhèngzài yánjiū Yáo xìng de qǐyuán.

Historians are researching the origin of the Yao surname.

这位教授的研究获得了大奖。

Zhè wèi Yáo jiàoshòu de yánjiū huòdé le dàjiǎng.

This Professor Yao's research won a major award.

在NBA的历史上,明具有特殊地位。

Zài NBA de lìshǐ shàng, Yáo Míng jùyǒu tèshū dìwèi.

In NBA history, Yao Ming holds a special place.