姚

yáo

兆 + 女

Definitions

yáo (adjective) handsome; good-looking

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 女 represents the meaning and 兆 represents the sound.

Semantic: 女 Phonetic: 兆

About

姚 is a phono-semantic compound combining the semantic component 女 (woman) with the phonetic component 兆. Originally an adjective meaning handsome, elegant, or beautiful when describing a person's appearance, the female radical hints at early connections to feminine grace or lineage. Over time, its primary use shifted to a prominent Chinese surname, one of the ancient ancestral names. The adjectival sense is now largely obsolete, but the character's structure still reflects its early link between aesthetic elegance and the female component.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Bronze Early Spring and Autumn (~700 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

姚明是一名篮球运动员。

Yáo Míng shì yì míng lánqiú yùndòngyuán.

Yao Ming is a basketball player.

我们班的姚同学很优秀。

Wǒmen bān de Yáo tóngxué hěn yōuxiù.

Classmate Yao in our class is excellent.

姚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姚。

Zhège gùshi de zhǔréngōng xìng Yáo.

The protagonist of this story has the surname Yao.

姚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.

历史学家正在研究姚姓的起源。

Lìshǐxuéjiā zhèngzài yánjiū Yáo xìng de qǐyuán.

Historians are researching the origin of the Yao surname.

这位姚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，姚明具有特殊地位。

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

In NBA history, Yao Ming holds a special place.

Related Characters

Component: 兆

Component: 女

姚