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劭

shào
adjective

Meanings

  1. 1 noble; of fine character (classical)
  2. 2 to encourage; to urge on (classical)

Examples

HSK 6
年弥高而德弥劭。
Nián mí gāo ér dé mí shào.
As his years grew greater, his virtue grew finer still.

Tips

history
劭 'noble in character' is not used independently in modern Chinese. It survives in the bookish phrase 年高德劭 (advanced in years and high in virtue) and as a given name. It shares the 召 phonetic with 邵.
register
Archaic and literary only, seen in old praise formulas and etymology notes, not in everyday speech.

Components

phonetic
召 zhào
to summon; to call
召 supplies the sound, drifted to shào. The same phonetic appears in 邵 (a surname) and 绍 (to carry on; to introduce).
semantic
力 lì
strength; effort
力 (strength, effort) adds the sense of striving toward something fine, supporting the meanings 'to urge on' and 'high in worth'.

Stroke Order

劭 shào