藐 (miǎo): to despise; to look down on; to…

Meanings

1 to despise; to look down on; to belittle
2 small; tiny; insignificant

Characters

藐

miǎo

to despise; tiny

Examples

HSK 6

战略上藐视敌人，战术上重视敌人。

Zhànlüè shàng miǎoshì dírén, zhànshù shàng zhòngshì dírén.

Strategically despise the enemy, but tactically take him seriously.

HSK 6

他对规则表现出一副藐视的态度。

Tā duì guīzé biǎoxiàn chū yī fù miǎoshì de tàidu.

He showed an utterly contemptuous attitude toward the rules.

Tips

usage

The everyday word is 藐视 ('to scorn / hold in contempt'), close to 蔑视. The 'tiny / insignificant' sense survives in 藐小 and overlaps with 渺 (minute).

Components

radical

艹 cǎo

grass; plant

Grass radical on top, cap-form of 草. It was originally a plant name; the modern 'despise / tiny' senses are borrowings, so the radical here is mostly an inherited indexing marker rather than a meaning clue.

phonetic

貌 mào

appearance; looks

Bottom 貌 supplies the sound (mào to miǎo). It is purely phonetic; 'appearance' contributes no meaning to this 'to scorn' word.

Stroke Order

藐 miǎo

Related Words

藐视 miǎoshì #9,759

to despise; to look down upon / to show contempt for

极少数 jíshǎoshù HSK 7-9

a tiny minority; a very small number / an extremely small proportion

鄙视 bǐshì HSK 7-9 #9,424

to despise / to disdain / to look down upon

倒下 dǎoxià HSK 7-9 #4,263

to fall down / to collapse / to be struck down

打倒 dǎdǎo HSK 7-9 #5,212

to overthrow / to knock down / down with

关闭 guānbì HSK 4 #2,087

to close; to shut / to shut down; to close down

顾 gù HSK 6 #5,745

to look after; to care for / to attend to; to take into account / to look around; to turn around

击倒 jīdǎo #6,826

to knock down / to knock out / to strike down

乘人之危 chéngrénzhīwēi HSK 7-9 #71,536

to take advantage of someone's precarious situation / to kick someone when they're down

跪下 guìxià #4,909

to kneel down / to get on one's knees