瑶

瑤

yáo

䍃 + 王

Definitions

yáo (noun) jade; precious stone

Yáo (noun) Yao ethnic group of China and Southeast Asia

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 王 represents the meaning and 䍃 represents the sound. Simplified form of 瑤.

Semantic: 王 Phonetic: 䍃

About

瑶 is a phono-semantic compound: 王 (jade) represents the meaning, and 䍃 represents the sound. The simplified form replaces the traditional phonetic 䍃 (seen in 瑤) with 尧. Originally, the character referred to fine jade or a beautiful gemstone. It now also serves as an adjective meaning beautiful, pure, or precious, and as the name of the Yao ethnic minority in southern China and Southeast Asia.

Etymology Hide

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我有一串美丽的瑶珠。

Wǒ yǒu yī chuàn měilì de Yáozhū.

I have a beautiful string of Yao beads.

瑶族文化很有特色。

Yáozú wénhuà hěn yǒu tèsè.

Yao ethnic culture is very distinctive.

传说中瑶池是西王母住的地方。

Chuánshuō zhōng Yáochí shì Xīwángmǔ zhù de dìfang.

Legend says Yaochi is where the Queen Mother of the West lives.

她精心熬了一锅瑶柱粥。

Tā jīngxīn áo le yī guō yáozhù zhōu.

She carefully cooked a pot of congee with dried scallops.

这件玉器雕工精湛，宛如瑶琳仙境。

Zhè jiàn yùqì diāogōng jīngzhàn, wǎnrú Yáolín xiānjìng.

This jade artifact has exquisite carving, just like a fairyland of jade forests.

他远赴广西研究瑶族医药。

Tā yuǎn fù Guǎngxī yánjiū Yáozú yīyào.

He traveled far to Guangxi to study Yao ethnic medicine.

那片被晨雾笼罩的山林，琼枝瑶叶，美不胜收。

Nà piàn bèi chénwù lǒngzhào de shānlín, qióng zhī yáo yè, měi bù shèng shōu.

That mountain forest shrouded in morning mist, with its jade-like branches and leaves, is breathtakingly beautiful.

她名字里的瑶字，寄托了父母对她如玉般温润美好的期望。

Tā míngzì lǐ de Yáo zì, jìtuō le fùmǔ duì tā rú yù bān wēnrùn měihǎo de qīwàng.

The character 'Yao' in her name carries her parents' expectation for her to be as gentle and beautiful as fine jade.

Related Characters

Component: 䍃

Component: 王

瑶