翱 (áo): (in 翱翔) to soar; to hover in fl…

Meanings

雄鹰在辽阔的天空自由翱翔。

Xióngyīng zài liáokuò de tiānkōng zìyóu áoxiáng.

An eagle soars freely in the boundless sky.

她渴望像鸟一样在蓝天中翱翔。

Tā kěwàng xiàng niǎo yíyàng zài lántiān zhōng áoxiáng.

She longs to soar through the open sky like a bird.

usage

翱 appears almost only in 翱翔 (to soar). Traditionally 翱 is flying with the wings beating, while 翔 is gliding with wings held still.

radical

羽 yǔ

feathers; wings

Right side 羽 is the feather radical, picturing wings and tying 翱 to the act of flying.

phonetic

皋 gāo

riverbank; marsh (here phonetic)

Left side 皋 is the phonetic element; the sound has drifted from gāo to áo, so read it as a sound hint rather than an exact match.

翱 áo