箫 (xiāo) — a vertical bamboo flute (Chinese traditional instrument)
Definition
noun
a vertical bamboo flute (Chinese traditional instrument)
Measure word · 支
Easily confused
- 萧xiāolook-alikedesolate; bleak (bound form)
- 消xiāosound-aliketo eliminate, to dispel, to subside
- 肖xiāosound-alike(bound form) used as a surname; also a component in compounds meaning 'to resemble' (pronounced xiào)
- 削xiāosound-aliketo pare, to peel (fruit), to sharpen (a pencil)
- 宵xiāosound-alikenight (bound morpheme, used in compounds)
- 销xiāosound-aliketo sell
Examples
- 箫。Tā chuī xiāo de jì yì fēi cháng gāo chāo.His skill in playing the xiao is extremely high.
- 箫。Zhè zhī xiāo shì yòng zǐ zhú zhì chéng de.This xiao is made from purple bamboo.
- 箫。Tā xǐ huan zài yuè xià chuī xiāo.She likes to play the xiao under the moonlight.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 簫; 箫 is its simplified writing.
Sound part声符shēngfú
肅
肅sù簫xiāo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 簫 pairs 竹 (bamboo) with 肅, which gives the sound; the simplified 箫 is a later shorthand.
Appears in
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