哮 (xiào): to pant; to wheeze

Meanings

1 to pant; to wheeze
2 to roar; to bark (of animals)

Characters

哮

xiào

to wheeze; to roar; to bark

Examples

HSK 7-9

哮喘患者在运动后容易出现哮鸣音。

Xiàochuǎn huànzhě zài yùndòng hòu róngyì chūxiàn xiàomíng yīn.

Asthma patients are prone to wheezing sounds after exercise.

HSK 7-9

狮子发出低沉的哮声，令人胆寒。

Shīzi fāchū dīchén de xiào shēng, lìngrén dǎnhán.

The lion let out a deep roar that made people's hearts quake.

Tips

usage

哮 most commonly appears in compounds: 哮喘 (asthma), 咆哮 (to roar with rage). As a standalone character it is relatively rare in everyday speech.

Components

radical

口 kǒu

mouth

Left-side mouth radical - a small square depicting an open mouth. Indexes 哮 in the loud-voice family alongside 喊 to shout, 吼 to roar, 叫 to yell. Carries the meaning directly: 哮 names a raspy panting or wheezing sound coming up out of the throat, which extends to a beast's roar.

phonetic

孝 xiào

filial piety (here phonetic)

Right side 孝 supplies the sound directly - xiào to xiào, identical. The filial-piety meaning of 孝 doesn't transfer; it's borrowed purely as a sound match. 哮喘 asthma and 咆哮 to roar are the everyday compounds.