娑 (suō): (in 婆娑) dancing; whirling; sway…

Meanings

1 (in 婆娑) dancing; whirling; swaying gracefully

Characters

娑

suō

swaying; whirling

Examples

柳枝在风中婆娑起舞。

Liǔzhī zài fēng zhōng pósuō qǐwǔ.

The willow branches sway gently in the breeze.

月光透过婆娑的树影洒下来。

Yuèguāng tòuguò pósuō de shùyǐng sǎ xiàlái.

Moonlight fell through the swaying tree shadows.

Tips

usage

娑 is a bound character living in 婆娑, describing graceful swaying or whirling, as of dancing or branches in the wind. It also transliterates 娑婆 (the Saha world) in Buddhist texts.

Components

radical

女 nǚ

woman

女 is the woman radical at the bottom. The original sense pictured a woman dancing, which is why this character means graceful swaying motion.

phonetic

沙 shā

sand

沙 sits on top and supplies the sound, shifted from shā to suō. It is the phonetic element here and contributes only the reading.

Stroke Order

娑 suō

Related Words

谁持彩练当空舞 shéi chí cǎi liàn dāng kōng wǔ

who is holding the colored silks dancing across the sky? / (of a rainbow) an elegant rhetorical question about a rainbow's beauty / (lit.) who holds the colored silk ribbons, dancing against the sky

舞蹈 wǔdǎo HSK 6 #1,062

dance (as an art form) / dancing

舞 wǔ HSK 5 #452

dance; dancing / to dance; to move about / to wield; to brandish

迪斯科 dísīkē #7,589

disco / disco music / disco dancing

歌舞 gēwǔ HSK 7-9 #9,172

song and dance / singing and dancing

摇头晃脑 yáotóu-huàngnǎo #43,171

to shake and wag one's head / to bob one's head pompously (as a scholar reading aloud) / head-swaying

袅袅 niǎoniǎo #64,385

curling upward (of smoke or mist) / lingering and graceful (of music) / swaying gracefully (of a slender figure)

舞女 wǔnǚ #10,566

dancing girl / female dancer / taxi dancer

三陪小姐 sānpéi xiǎojie

female bar/nightclub escort / hostess (whose work involves drinking, dancing and sexual services)

摇摆舞 yáobǎiwǔ #10,937

swing (dance) / swing dancing