娑 (suō) · (in 婆娑) dancing; whirling; swaying gracefully

Meanings

1 (in 婆娑) dancing; whirling; swaying gracefully

Characters

娑

suō

swaying; whirling

Examples

HSK 7-9

柳枝在风中婆娑起舞。

Liǔzhī zài fēng zhōng pósuō qǐwǔ.

The willow branches sway gently in the breeze.

HSK 7-9

月光透过婆娑的树影洒下来。

Yuèguāng tòuguò pósuō de shùyǐng sǎ xiàlái.

Moonlight fell through the swaying tree shadows.

Tips

usage

娑 is a bound character living in 婆娑, describing graceful swaying or whirling, as of dancing or branches in the wind. It also transliterates 娑婆 (the Saha world) in Buddhist texts.

Components

radical

女 nǚ

woman

女 is the woman radical at the bottom. The original sense pictured a woman dancing, which is why this character means graceful swaying motion.

phonetic

沙 shā

sand

沙 sits on top and supplies the sound, shifted from shā to suō. It is the phonetic element here and contributes only the reading.

Stroke Order

娑 suō

Related Words

谁持彩练当空舞 shéi chí cǎiliàn dāngkōng wǔ

who is holding the colored silks dancing across the sky? / (of a rainbow) an elegant rhetorical question about a rainbow's beauty / (lit.) who holds the colored silk ribbons, dancing against the sky

舞蹈 wǔdǎo HSK 5 #1,062

dance (as an art form) / dancing

舞 wǔ HSK 7-9 #452

dance; dancing / to dance; to move about / to wield; to brandish

迪斯科 dísīkē #7,589

disco / disco music / disco dancing

歌舞 gēwǔ HSK 7-9 #9,172

song and dance / singing and dancing

摇头晃脑 yáotóu-huàngnǎo #43,171

to shake and wag one's head / to bob one's head pompously (as a scholar reading aloud) / head-swaying

袅袅 niǎoniǎo #64,385

curling upward (of smoke or mist) / lingering and graceful (of music) / swaying gracefully (of a slender figure)

舞女 wǔnǚ #10,566

dancing girl / female dancer / taxi dancer

三陪小姐 sānpéi xiǎojie

female bar/nightclub escort / hostess (whose work involves drinking, dancing and sexual services)

摇摆舞 yáobǎiwǔ #10,937

swing (dance) / swing dancing