窕

窕 U+7A95, 窕 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-7A95 ← 窔 [U+7A94] CJK Unified Ideographs 窖 → [U+7A96]

Translingual

Han character

窕 (Kangxi radical 116, 穴+6, 11 strokes, cangjie input 十金中一人 (JCLMO), four-corner 3011₃, composition ⿱穴兆)

1. slender
2. quiet and modest, charming

Derived characters

• 𠻩, 𡡃, 𢳙

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 865, character 14
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 25496
• Dae Jaweon: page 1293, character 19
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2729, character 9
• Unihan data for U+7A95

Chinese

trad.		窕
simp. #		窕
alternative forms		姚

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 窕
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Small seal script

Characters in the same phonetic series (兆) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
挑	*l̥ʰaːw, *l̥ʰeːw, *l'eːwʔ
洮	*l̥ʰaːw, *l'aːw, *lew
桃	*l'aːw
逃	*l'aːw
咷	*l'aːw, *l̥ʰeːws
鼗	*l'aːw
鞉	*l'aːw
駣	*l'aːw, *l'aːwʔ, *l'aːws, *l'ewʔ
𣂁	*sl̥ʰew
脁	*l̥ʰews
晁	*l'ew
兆	*l'ewʔ
旐	*l'ewʔ
狣	*l'ewʔ
鮡	*l'ewʔ, *l'eːw
垗	*l'ewʔ
姚	*lew
珧	*lew
銚	*lew, *l̥ʰeːw, *l'eːws
恌	*lew, *l̥ʰeːw
烑	*lew
餆	*lew
筄	*lews
艞	*lews
佻	*l̥ʰeːw, *l'eːw
祧	*l̥ʰeːw
朓	*l̥ʰeːw, *l̥ʰeːwʔ
庣	*l̥ʰeːw
趒	*l̥ʰeːw, *l̥ʰeːws, *l'eːw
聎	*l̥ʰeːw
眺	*l̥ʰeːws
覜	*l̥ʰeːws
頫	*l̥ʰeːws, *poʔ
絩	*l̥ʰeːws
跳	*l̥ʰeːws, *l'eːw
窕	*l'eːwʔ
誂	*l'eːwʔ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *l'eːwʔ): semantic 穴 (“cave”) + phonetic 兆 (OC *l'ewʔ).

Etymology

Possibly cognate to 竅 (OC *kʰleːwɢs) (Schuessler, 2007)

Pronunciation 1

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): tiǎo (tiao³)

  (Zhuyin): ㄊㄧㄠˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): tiu⁵ / diu⁶
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): thiáu

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: tiǎo
    • Zhuyin: ㄊㄧㄠˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: tiǎo
    • Wade–Giles: tʻiao³
    • Yale: tyǎu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: teau
    • Palladius: тяо (tjao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰi̯ɑʊ̯²¹⁴/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: tiu⁵ / diu⁶
    • Yale: tíuh / diuh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tiu⁵ / diu⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: tiu⁵ / diu⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰiːu̯¹³/, /tiːu̯²²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: thiáu
    • Tâi-lô: thiáu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: tiao
    • IPA (Xiamen): /tʰiau⁵³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /tʰiau⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /tʰiau⁵³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /tʰiau⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /tʰiau⁴¹/

---

• Middle Chinese: dewX

Rime
Character	窕
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	定 (7)
Final (韻)	蕭 (93)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	IV
Fanqie	徒了切
Baxter	dewX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/deuX/
Pan Wuyun	/deuX/
Shao Rongfen	/deuX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/dɛwX/
Li Rong	/deuX/
Wang Li	/dieuX/
Bernhard Karlgren	/dʱieuX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	diào
Expected Cantonese Reflex	diu6

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*lˤ[e]wʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*l'eːwʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	窕
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	tiǎo
Middle Chinese	‹ dewX ›
Old Chinese	/*lˁ[e]wʔ/
English	窈窕 beautiful
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	窕
Reading #	1/1
No.	16893
Phonetic component	兆
Rime group	宵
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	窕
Old Chinese	/*l'eːwʔ/

Definitions

窕

1. used in 窈窕 (yǎotiǎo)
2. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to bore, to perforate

   • 《說山》、《說林》者，所以竅窕穿鑿百事之壅遏，而通行貫扃萬物之窒塞者也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     《说山》、《说林》者，所以窍窕穿凿百事之壅遏，而通行贯扃万物之窒塞者也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Huainanzi, 2^nd century BCE

     “Shuōshān”, “shuōlín” zhě, suǒyǐ qiào tiǎo chuān záo bǎishì zhī yōng'è, ér tōng xíng guàn jiōng wànwù zhī zhìsài zhě yě. [Pinyin]

     “A Mountain of Persuasions” and “A Forest of Persuasions” demonstrate how to skillfully and elegantly penetrate and bore open the blockages and obstructions of the hundred affairs and thoroughly and comprehensively penetrate and pierce the barriers and hindrances of the myriad things.

3. gap; unfilled space
4. unfilled

   • 不充則不詹，不詹則窕。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
     不充则不詹，不詹则窕。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: Lü Buwei, Master Lü's Spring and Autumn Annals, 239 BCE

     Bùchōng zé bùzhān, bùzhān zé tiǎo. [Pinyin]

     Not satisfied, thus not contented; not contented, thus unfulfilled.

5. false; superficial
6. small

Compounds

• 目窕心與 / 目窕心与
• 窈窕 (yǎotiǎo)
• 窅窕
• 窈窕淑女 (yǎotiǎoshūnǚ)
• 窕言
• 裊窕 / 袅窕

Pronunciation 2

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): yáo (yao²)

  (Zhuyin): ㄧㄠˊ

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: yáo
    • Zhuyin: ㄧㄠˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: yáo
    • Wade–Giles: yao²
    • Yale: yáu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yau
    • Palladius: яо (jao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɑʊ̯³⁵/

---

Definitions

窕

1. alternative form of 姚 (yáo)

Compounds

• 窕冶

Pronunciation 3

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): tiāo (tiao¹)

  (Zhuyin): ㄊㄧㄠ

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: tiāo
    • Zhuyin: ㄊㄧㄠ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: tiao
    • Wade–Giles: tʻiao¹
    • Yale: tyāu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tiau
    • Palladius: тяо (tjao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰi̯ɑʊ̯⁵⁵/

---

Definitions

窕

1. alternative form of 佻

References

• “窕”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Japanese

Kanji

窕

(Hyōgai kanji)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Readings

• On (unclassified): ちょう (chō)
• Kun: うつくしい (utsukushī)

Korean

Hanja

窕 • (jo) (hangeul 조, revised jo, McCune–Reischauer cho, Yale co)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.