寥

liáo
宀 + 翏

Definitions

liáo (adjective) empty; sparse; scarce
liáo (adjective) lonesome; solitary

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 宀 represents the meaning and 翏 represents the sound.

Semantic: 宀 Phonetic: 翏

About

寥 (liáo) means empty, silent, desolate, or few, and often describes vast uninhabited expanses or a stark scarcity of people and things. It is a phono-semantic compound: the roof radical 宀 (mián), which suggests an empty house, gives the meaning, while the component 翏 (liù or liáo), depicting feathers flying high, indicates the pronunciation. Over time, its usage extended from literal empty dwellings to abstract emptiness, like the vast sky, as well as quiet solitude and numerical scarcity, and it now frequently appears in poetic or formal language to convey loneliness, spaciousness, or extreme rarity.

Example Sentences Hide

夜晚的街道很寂寥。

Yèwǎn de jiēdào hěn jìliáo.

The street at night is very desolate.

观众寥寥，演出照常进行。

Guānzhòng liáoliáo, yǎnchū zhàocháng jìnxíng.

The audience is sparse, but the performance goes on as usual.

秋天，花园里花草寥落。

Qiūtiān, huāyuán lǐ huācǎo liáoluò.

In autumn, the flowers and plants in the garden are sparse.

仰望寥廓的天空，他陷入沉思。

Yǎngwàng liáokuò de tiānkōng, tā xiànrù chénsī.

Gazing at the vast sky, he fell into deep thought.

尽管外面热闹非凡，他的世界却一片寂寥。

Jǐnguǎn wàimiàn rènào fēifán, tā de shìjiè què yīpiàn jìliáo.

Although it is bustling outside, his world is very lonely.

战乱过后，小镇显得格外寥落。

Zhànluàn guòhòu, xiǎo zhèn xiǎndé géwài liáoluò.

After the war, the small town appears particularly desolate.

在寥廓的宇宙面前，人类显得渺小。

Zài liáokuò de yǔzhòu miànqián, rénlèi xiǎndé miǎoxiǎo.

In the face of the vast universe, humanity appears small.

他寂寥地坐在窗前，望着寥落的星空。

Tā jìliáo de zuò zài chuāng qián, wàngzhe liáoluò de xīngkōng.

He sat lonely by the window, gazing at the sparse stars.

Related Characters

Component: 宀

家 定 实 它 安 完 字 官 容 察 客 室 宗 富

Component: 翏

谬 廖 缪 戮 醪 鹨 蓼 膠 镠 瘳 謬 轇 繆 鏐

Example Words

寂寥 寥寥 寥寥无几 寥寥可数 寥廓 寥若晨星 寥落