绰 (chuò): ample; spacious; abundant

Meanings

1 ample; spacious; abundant
2 (literary) graceful; charming

Characters

绰

chuò

ample; graceful

Examples

我们时间还很绰。

Wǒmen shíjiān hái hěn chuò.

We still have ample time.

她身材绰约，气质出众。

Tā shēncái chuò yuē, qìzhì chūzhòng.

Her figure is graceful and her bearing exceptional.

Tips

usage

Mostly seen in compounds today: 绰号 (chuòhào, nickname), 绰绰有余 (chuòchuòyǒuyú, more than enough), 绰约 (chuòyuē, graceful). Has a second reading chāo meaning 'to grab; snatch up' (e.g. 绰起一根棍子 'snatch up a stick'), but chuò is the dominant modern reading.

memory

The silk radical 纟 + 卓 ('outstanding') — think of generous, flowing silk: 'enough to spare, gracefully draped'.

Components

radical

纟 sī

silk thread (radical form of 糸)

The silk radical on the left tags 绰 as something woven or fabric-related — originally a long flowing silk garment, hence "ample, spacious, generous". The radical indexes 绰 with the cloth-and-thread family: 绫 damask, 绸 silk, 绒 wool, 绵 cotton, 绣 embroidery.

phonetic

卓 zhuó

eminent; outstanding (here phonetic)

卓 supplies the sound zhuó → chuò, a tone-and-initial drift. It also lends a faint flavour: 卓 means tall and outstanding, fitting the abundance and grace of 绰约 charming or 阔绰 lavish. Same phonetic in 悼 mourn, 棹 oar.