嗖

sōu
叟 + 口

Definitions

sōu (onom.) whooshing; swishing; rustle of skirts

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 叟 represents the sound.

Semantic: 口 Phonetic: 叟

About

嗖 is a phono-semantic compound: the mouth radical 口 indicates a vocal sound, while 叟 (sǒu) provides the pronunciation. Although 叟 ordinarily means "elderly man", it functions here purely as a phonetic marker. The character imitates the sharp, high-pitched whiz of something moving rapidly through the air, like an arrow, a strong gust of wind, or a fast vehicle, and serves solely as onomatopoeia with no secondary meanings.

Example Sentences Hide

箭嗖地飞过去了。

Jiàn sōu de fēi guòqù le.

The arrow whizzed past.

冷风嗖嗖地吹着。

Lěngfēng sōusōu de chuīzhe.

The cold wind is whistling by.

子弹嗖嗖地从头顶掠过。

Zǐdàn sōusōu de cóng tóudǐng lüèguò.

Bullets whistled past overhead.

他嗖的一下就跑没影了。

Tā sōu de yīxià jiù pǎo méi yǐng le.

He disappeared from sight in a flash.

他的排名嗖地上升了。

Tā de páimíng sōu de shàngshēng le.

His ranking shot up rapidly.

那辆车嗖的一声超了过去。

Nà liàng chē sōu de yīshēng chāole guòqù.

That car zoomed past with a whoosh.

消息嗖地传遍了整个学校。

Xiāoxi sōu de chuánbiànle zhěnggè xuéxiào.

The news spread through the entire school in a flash.

嗖的一声，灵感划过脑海。

Sōu de yīshēng, línggǎn huáguò nǎohǎi.

With a sudden whoosh, inspiration flashed through my mind.

Related Characters

Component: 叟

艘 搜 瘦 嫂 飕 馊 锼 溲 螋 瞍 颼 鎪 謏 廋

Component: 口

中 和 可 后 如 同 只 知 高 问 向 或 加 合

Example Words

嗖嗖