窕 (tiǎo): (in 窈窕) gentle and graceful; sl…

Meanings

她身材窈窕，举止优雅。

Tā shēncái yǎotiǎo, jǔzhǐ yōuyǎ.

Her figure is slender and her bearing graceful.

台上站着一位窈窕的舞者。

Táishàng zhàn zhe yí wèi yǎotiǎo de wǔzhě.

On stage stood a graceful, slender dancer.

usage

Bound; it appears only in 窈窕 ('gentle and graceful'), used of a woman who is slender, elegant, and refined.

radical

穴 xué

cave; hollow

Cave, the radical on top, the older 'deep, hollow' sense, partnering its twin 窈 which carries the same radical.

phonetic

兆 zhào

omen; phonetic

Omen, sitting below and supplying the sound; zhào shifts to tiǎo. The same phonetic gives 挑 and 桃.

窕 tiǎo