肖
xiàoxiāo HSK7

look like

← Back to history
approved by Peter Olson · Sep 4, 2021, 05:16 PM · Reviewed by Peter Olson on Sep 4, 2021, 05:16 PM

verify

Changed fields: hint, originalMeaning, isVerified, components, customSources

Original meaning: decrease, disappear

Depicts the moon (月) getting smaller (小) and disappearing as part of the lunar cycle. Based on the original meaning "decrease, disappear", now written as 消. The meaning later shifted to "resemble; similar".

Components

小
小 SoundMeaning component
月
月 Meaning component

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Warring States ~250 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Qin 221-206 BC
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-Sagartsjew[s]ew disappear
sjewH[s]ew-s resemble

說文解字

《說文》:“肖,骨肉相似也。从肉,小聲。不似其先故曰不肖也。”

Sources

Character origin
漢語多功能字庫
Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica