藐 (miǎo): to despise; to look down on; to…

Meanings

1 to despise; to look down on; to belittle
2 small; tiny; insignificant (literary)

Characters

藐

miǎo

to despise; tiny

Examples

战略上藐视敌人，战术上重视敌人。

Zhànlüè shàng miǎoshì dírén, zhànshù shàng zhòngshì dírén.

Strategically despise the enemy, but tactically take him seriously.

他对规则表现出一副藐视的态度。

Tā duì guīzé biǎoxiàn chū yī fù miǎoshì de tàidu.

He showed an utterly contemptuous attitude toward the rules.

Tips

usage

The everyday word is 藐视 ('to scorn / hold in contempt'), close to 蔑视. The 'tiny / insignificant' sense survives in 藐小 and overlaps with 渺 (minute).

Components

radical

艹 cǎo

grass; plant (top radical)

Grass radical on top, cap-form of 草. It was originally a plant name; the modern 'despise / tiny' senses are borrowings, so the radical here is mostly an inherited indexing marker rather than a meaning clue.

phonetic

貌 mào

appearance; looks

Bottom 貌 supplies the sound (mào → miǎo). It is purely phonetic; 'appearance' contributes no meaning to this 'to scorn' word.

Stroke Order

藐 miǎo

Related Words

藐视 miǎoshì #9,759

to despise; to look down upon / to show contempt for

极少数 jíshǎoshù HSK 7-9

a tiny minority; a very small number / an extremely small proportion

鄙视 bǐshì HSK 7-9 #9,424

to despise / to disdain / to look down upon

倒下 dǎoxià HSK 7-9 #4,263

to fall down / to collapse / to be struck down

打倒 dǎdǎo HSK 7-9 #5,212

to overthrow / to knock down / down with

关闭 guānbì HSK 4 #2,087

to close; to shut / to shut down; to close down

顾 gù HSK 6 #5,745

to look after; to care for / to attend to; to take into account / to look around; to turn around

击倒 jīdǎo #6,826

to knock down / to knock out / to strike down

乘人之危 chéngrénzhīwēi HSK 7-9 #71,536

to take advantage of someone's precarious situation / to kick someone when they're down

垂 chuí HSK 7-9 #8,793

to hang down; to droop / to approach; on the verge of (literary)