霄

xiāo

肖 + 雨

Definitions

xiāo firmament; heaven

Etymology

To look like 肖 rain 雨; 肖 also provides the pronunciation

About

霄 (xiāo) represents the sky, clouds, or the highest heavens, evoking vast altitude and atmospheric grandeur. It is a phono-semantic compound: the rain radical 雨 (yǔ) sits atop, marking the meaning as pertaining to weather and moisture in the air, while 肖 (xiào, 'to resemble') below serves only as the phonetic, giving the pronunciation. Originally, 霄 referred specifically to sleet or falling frozen rain in ancient texts, but its primary usage shifted to describe the upper atmosphere, soaring altitudes, and the majestic expanse of the firmament, appearing in both literary and aeronautical contexts.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

天上的云霄很美。

Tiānshàng de yúnxiāo hěn měi.

The clouds in the sky are very beautiful.

飞机穿过云霄。

Fēijī chuānguò yúnxiāo.

The airplane passes through the clouds.

他的梦想是飞向云霄。

Tā de mèngxiǎng shì fēi xiàng yúnxiāo.

His dream is to fly towards the clouds.

九霄的高度难以想象。

Jiǔxiāo de gāodù nányǐ xiǎngxiàng.

The height of the highest heavens is hard to imagine.

歌声从云霄中传来。

Gēshēng cóng yúnxiāo zhōng chuán lái.

The singing voice comes from within the clouds.

在云霄之上，空气稀薄。

Zài yúnxiāo zhī shàng, kōngqì xībó.

Above the clouds, the air is thin.

霄汉的奥秘吸引科学家。

Xiāohàn de àomì xīyǐn kēxuéjiā.

The mysteries of the heavens attract scientists.

攀登科学高峰如冲霄汉，需要坚持。

Pāndēng kēxué gāofēng rú chōng xiāohàn, xūyào jiānchí.

Climbing the peaks of science is like charging into the heavens, requiring perseverance.

Related Characters

Component: 肖

Component: 雨

霄