鸮 (xiāo) · owl (literary / bound form)

Measure Word

一只鸮 zhī

Meanings

1 owl (literary / bound form)
2 bird of the order Strigiformes

Characters

鸮

xiāo

owl

Examples

HSK 7-9

商代青铜器中有著名的鸮尊。

Shāng dài qīngtóngqì zhōng yǒu zhùmíng de xiāo zūn.

Among Shang-dynasty bronzes, the owl-shaped zūn vessel is famous.

HSK 7-9

雪鸮是北极圈常见的猛禽。

Xuě xiāo shì Běijíquān chángjiàn de měngqín.

The snowy owl is a common raptor in the Arctic Circle.

Tips

register

Literary / classifier character. Modern everyday Chinese uses 猫头鹰 ("cat-headed hawk") for "owl"; 鸮 survives mostly in scientific species names (雪鸮, 鵰鸮) and classical texts.

Components

radical

鸟 niǎo

bird

Right bird radical - the indexing radical (simplified from 鳥 in the 1956 reform). Marks 鸮 as a member of the bird family with 鸡 (chicken), 鸭 (duck), 鹰 (eagle), 鹊 (magpie). 鸮 specifically names the owl, often the horned or eared species; in classical literature owls were ill-omened birds, hence the figurative 'sinister' overtone the character can carry.

phonetic

号 hào

to cry out; signal

Left side 号 supplies the sound - hào shifted to xiāo through onset alternation, the same shift seen in 嚣 (clamor). 号 also contributes meaning: owls are famously vocal at night, and 鸮 names them for that mournful nocturnal hoot. Same phonetic appears in 嚎 (howl).