噪

zào
verb #23,965

Meanings

  1. 1 to make a cacophonous noise
  2. 2 (of birds or insects) to chirp noisily
  3. 3 noisy

Examples

HSK 7-9
Shùshàng de chán yìzhí zài zào, lìngrén xīnfán.
The cicadas in the tree kept chirping noisily, making people restless.
HSK 7-9
Wàimiàn rénshēng cáo zào, gēnběn shuì bù zháo.
The noise of voices outside was so cacophonous that sleep was impossible.

Tips

usage
噪 is mainly found as a bound form in compounds: 噪音 (noise/static), 嘈噪 (clamorous), 噪声 (noise pollution). As a standalone verb it is literary.

Components

radical
口 kǒu
mouth
Left mouth radical, a pictograph of an open mouth, the indexing element. Marks 噪 as a noise word: clamour, racket, the chatter of many voices or the chirp of insects (蝉噪 cicadas droning). Same family as 喊 shout, 叫 call, 哄 uproar.
phonetic
喿 zào
chirping of many birds
Right 喿 supplies the sound directly. Beautiful semantic flavour: 喿 itself is three mouths piled on a tree (three 口 over 木), a picture of birds flocking and chattering at once. The mouth radical on the left amplifies the already-noisy graph. Family: 操, 燥, 躁.

Stroke Order

噪 zào