biāo
noun #15,555

Meanings

  1. 1 tiger stripes
  2. 2 ornate and brightly colored
  3. 3 young tiger
  4. 4 strong; stalwart

Examples

Tā zhǎng de hěn biāo hàn.
He looks very tough and strong.
Biāo xíng dàhàn dǎngzhù le qùlù.
A burly man blocked the way.

Tips

usage
Rarely used alone in modern Chinese. Most commonly appears in compounds: (fierce and tough), 大汉 (burly man), (shining brilliantly, of achievements). Also used as a given name.

Components

radical
shān
hair; pattern (radical)
Inner — three diagonal strokes picturing fine hairs or decorative stripes. The indexing radical (Kangxi #59); appears wherever a character names a pattern, ornament, or visible marking: (form), (shadow), (beard), (colour pattern). In it depicts the tiger's stripes directly. From that vivid picture grew the surname use and the figurative 'vigorous, strapping' (大汉).
semantic
tiger
Outer — pictograph of a tiger, head and front legs wrapping the right side. The indexing radical of itself is (tiger-shell), but here the whole figure is preserved as the main element. was historically a young tiger or the striking stripes on its hide. Anchors firmly to the big-cat scene.

Stroke Order

biāo