杪 (miǎo): tip of a branch

Meanings

1 tip of a branch
2 the end / final part (of a period)
3 treetop

Characters

杪

miǎo

tip of branch / end of a period

Examples

月杪是指一个月的最后几天。

Yuè miǎo shì zhǐ yīgè yuè de zuìhòu jǐ tiān.

The end of the month (月杪) refers to the last few days of a month.

风吹树杪，发出轻微的沙沙声。

Fēng chuī shù miǎo, fāchū qīngwēi de shāshā shēng.

The wind blew through the treetops, making a soft rustling sound.

Tips

usage

杪 is a literary/classical term. In modern usage it appears most often in 月杪 (end of the month) or 年杪 (end of the year) in formal or written contexts.

Components

radical

木 mù

tree; wood

Left tree radical — the indexing radical, pictograph of a tree with branches above and roots below. Marks 杪 as a botanical term, specifically the slender tip of a tree branch where it tapers away to nothing. Anchors it in the tree family with 枝 (branch), 末 (tip), 梢 (treetop) — its near-synonym.

phonetic

少 shǎo

few; small

Right side 少 supplies the sound — shǎo shifted to miǎo through onset alternation, the same shift in 妙 (wonderful), 秒 (second), 渺 (vast/tiny). 少 also contributes meaning: the tip of a branch is the 'least' part, the slenderest end of the wood. Extended sense: 'the very end of' a season — 春杪 (late spring), 岁杪 (year's end).