xiǎo
verb #16,509

Meanings

  1. 1 dawn
  2. 2 to know
  3. 3 to let know

Examples

Zhīxiǎo
to know; to be aware of
Jiēxiǎo
to announce; to reveal

Tips

usage
(sun) + — the light of dawn brings knowledge

Components

radical
sun; day
Left sun radical (Kangxi #72) — pictograph of the sun, a square with a central marker. Anchors in the time-of-day family: (morning), (evening), (hour), (bright), (dark). is the moment of dawn when first sun cracks the horizon — and from that 'first light' came the figurative sense 'to understand, to become clear' (知晓, 晓得).
phonetic
yáo
Yao (sage-king); high
Right supplies the sound (yáo shifted to xiǎo, regular palatal drift through the y/sh series). itself was the legendary sage-king Yao, his name written as a tall pile of earth pictographically. Same phonetic family: (burn), (pour on), (wind around), (raise high). All share the right-side and varying yáo / shāo / ráo / qiào readings.

Stroke Order

xiǎo