Writing Balance Rule: The left component (小) is compact and slightly narrower, while the right component (刂) extends vertically to balance the overall width and maintain stability on the right side.
1. Meaning
to peel or pare with a blade
to cut or slice thinlyto reduce or curtail (e.g. expenses, staff)to cut a ball in sports like tennis
VerbNeutral#action#cooking#tools
Sample Usage
削苹果
xiāo píngguǒ
to peel an apple
削减开支
xiāojiǎn kāizhī
to cut down expenses
2. Sound
/[ɕi̯aʊ̯˥˥]/Tone: 55
削
xiāoxiao1
|
++
¯(55)
=xiāo
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
xiao
Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "a" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).
Initial Consonant
x
Type: Alveolo-Palatal Fricative
Sounds like: sh sound pronounced with the tongue blade near the hard palate
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Hissing friction with lips stretched wide in a smile.
Tongue & Mouth Position: The tip of the tongue rests gently behind the lower front teeth while the middle of the tongue rises toward the hard palate, creating a friction sound like a gentle hiss.
Final Rhyme
iao
Vowel Group: -a vowel group
Sounds like: ee-ow rhyme combined
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'yow'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T1 (55)
5 → 5 (55)
1st Tone (High-Flat)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Maintains a high, steady pitch across the entire vocalization without dipping or rising, similar to a musical drone note.
👂
Listening trap: Beginners often confuse the initial 'x-' ([ɕ]) with 'sh-' ([ʂ]). Remember that 'x-' is softer, produced with the tongue blade near the front hard palate rather than curled back.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 1 is a high, steady horizon line. Imagine a soprano singing a single sustained high note, or a flat tabletop at eye level.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 9 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left component (小) is compact and slightly narrower, while the right component (刂) extends vertically to balance the overall width and maintain stability on the right side.
4. Components
Radical刂 · Knife Radical (knife or cutting tool)
Semantic Clue (形旁):刂 (indicates cutting or slicing action with a blade)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):肖 (original sound: xiāo)
The character combines '肖' (resembling/small) on the left with '刂' (knife) on the right, showing a knife paring something down until it becomes small or streamlined.
小 small (top part of 肖)
月 flesh/body (bottom part of 肖)
刂 knife
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
23· Phonetic Root: 肖 (xiào)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Originally formed as a phono-semantic compound where '肖' provides the pronunciation and '刂' (knife) provides the core meaning of cutting and shaving.
Semantic Evolution: The core meaning has remained consistent over millennia: using a blade to remove outer layers, shavings, or excess material.
Ancient variations sometimes interchanged components, but the knife radical steadfastly anchors its manual tool heritage.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
tiêu
High level tone in Mandarin corresponds to ngang tone in Sino-Vietnamese.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ショウ (shō) / Kun: そ.ぐ (so.gu)
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
초
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
Imagine holding a SMALL (小) slice of meat (月) and using a sharp KNIFE (刂) to PEEL (削) away the outer skin in one smooth motion.
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
肖
xiàosimilarPhonetic Core (声旁)
消
xiāoto diminish, consume, or disappear+ 氵 (water)
销
xiāoto melt, to cancel, to sell, to spend+ 钅 (metal)