雅

yǎ
adjective #4,938

Meanings

  1. 1 elegant
  2. 2 refined
  3. 3 graceful

Examples

HSK 1
Tā shì yígè hěn yǎ de rén.
She is a very refined person.
HSK 5
Zhè jiān fángzi zhuāngxiū de hěn yǎ.
This house is decorated very elegantly.

Tips

usage
雅 is often combined with other characters: 优雅 (elegant), 高雅 (refined), 文雅 (cultured), 雅致 (tasteful).

Components

radical
隹 zhuī
short-tailed bird
Right 隹 (short-tailed bird) - the indexing radical. The original referent of 雅 may have been a specific crow or rook (still alive in 鸦); from the songbird sense came 'refined, elegant' - birds with graceful song. Same radical anchors 集 (gather), 难 (difficult), 雀 (sparrow).
phonetic
牙 yá
tooth; tusk
Left 牙 supplies the sound (ya -> ya, just a tone shift). 牙 itself depicts interlocking teeth or tusks. Phonetic family: 芽 (sprout), 蚜 (aphid), 鸦 (crow) - all built on 牙. Semantically silent here - pure sound carrier in 雅.

Stroke Order

雅 yǎ