妖娆 (yāo rào) — enchanting, bewitching, seductive (literary)

Definition

Literary word for ‘enchanting, bewitchingly charming’ — describes alluring appearance or graceful movement. Used almost only in writing; neutral synonyms like 美丽 or 漂亮 are far more common in speech.

verb
enchantingbewitchingseductive (literary)

Examples

  • 妖娆。
    Tā nà yāo rào de shēn zī ràng suǒ yǒu rén dōu kàn dāi le.
    Her enchanting figure stunned everyone.
  • 妖娆。
    Chūn tiān de jǐng sè zhēn shì yāo rào dòng rén.
    The spring scenery is truly bewitchingly beautiful.
  • 妖娆。
    Wǔ zhě men de dòng zuò yāo rào ér yōu yǎ.
    The dancers' movements are enchanting and graceful.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

妖yāo
娆ráo

妖 and 娆 carry no meanings of their own here; together they form a literary word for enchanting, bewitching beauty.

Sound-only characters

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
女女nǚ
Sound part声符shēngfú
夭
夭yāo妖yāo
Same sound today

妖 is built from 女 (woman) and 夭; the 女 part relates to the meaning, while 夭 gives the sound.

Open 妖 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 嬈; 娆 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
女女nǚfemale
Sound part声符shēngfú
堯
堯yáo嬈
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 嬈 pairs 女 (female) with 堯 as a sound part; the simplified 娆 is a later shorthand.

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