Definitions

biāo (noun) tiger stripes; tiger cub
biāo (noun,classifier) classifier for troops (archaic)

Etymology

A tiger's  stripes 

About

Originating from the depiction of a tiger with pronounced stripes, the character "彪" is structurally composed of "虎" representing the tiger and "彡" indicating stripes or patterns, which directly informed its early meaning of a striped beast or vividly marked appearance. Over centuries, its semantic range expanded beyond the literal to convey notions of something being conspicuously manifest or emphatically present, which in turn facilitated its metaphorical use in describing persons of robust vitality or exceptional vigor, thus transitioning from a concrete visual reference to an abstract term denoting strength and distinction.

Etymology Hide

Bronze etymology image
Bronze Early Spring and Autumn (~700 BC)
Bronze etymology image
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn (~500 BC)
Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

那个新同学名叫小

Nàge xīn tóngxué míng jiào Xiǎo Biāo.

That new classmate is named Xiao Biao.

哥是我们班的班长。

Biāo Gē shì wǒmen bān de bānzhǎng.

Brother Biao is the monitor of our class.

他长得高大悍。

Tā zhǎng de gāodà biāohàn.

He is tall and sturdy.

电影里的反派非常悍。

Diànyǐng lǐ de fǎnpài fēichāng biāohàn.

The villain in the movie is very fierce and tough.

他的行事风格有点

Tā de xíngshì fēnggé yǒudiǎn biāo.

His way of doing things is a bit reckless.

形大汉守在门口。

Biāoxíngdàhàn shǒu zài ménkǒu.

A burly, formidable man guarded the door.

这群人的战斗力很

Zhè qún rén de zhàndòulì hěn biāo.

This group of people has formidable combat strength.

他的功绩足以炳史册。

Tā de gōngjì zúyǐ biāobǐng shǐcè.

His achievements are glorious enough to be recorded in the annals of history.