xiào
verb #71,068

Meanings

  1. 1 to whistle (with the mouth)
  2. 2 to howl; to roar (of wind or animals)

Examples

Hánfēng hūxiào zhe chuī guò chuānghu.
The cold wind howled past the window.
老虎山林长啸一声
Lǎohǔ zài shānlín lǐ chángxiào yìshēng.
The tiger gave a long roar in the mountain forest.
Chēduì hūxiào zhe shǐguò gōnglù.
The convoy roared down the highway.

Tips

usage
Most common in 呼啸 (to whistle past, used of wind, bullets, vehicles) and 咆哮-like roaring contexts. 长啸 is a literary 'long howl', often a hero or beast venting emotion.

Components

radical
kǒu
mouth
Left mouth radical, marking this as a sound made through the mouth — a sharp whistle or piercing cry. It puts in the vocal-sound family alongside and .
phonetic
solemn; to respect
Right supplies the sound — sù drifting to xiào, a wide shift typical of older phonetic series. It contributes no meaning here; the simplified shape contracts the fuller traditional form on the right of .

Stroke Order

xiào