臊
Character learning workspace

sāo / sào · shy, bashful

Master the form, understand its parts, and learn how it behaves in real Chinese.

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Learn every stroke in 臊

Replay the complete order, pause on difficult movements, inspect one stroke at a time, then write it yourself with live correction.

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Stroke graphics: Make Me a Hanzi / Arphic Public License
Sound changes meaning

Readings & meanings

臊 has 2 dictionary pronunciations. The examples show how each reading behaves in real words.

sāo

to smell of urine (or sweat etc)

臊气sāo qì · foul smell
sào

shame; bashfulness; to shame

害臊hài sào · to be bashful
Step-by-step explorer

See how 臊 is constructed

Switch between the accumulated form and the isolated movement of each stroke.

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Writing notes

Shape and proportion

17Total strokes

Count each continuous pen movement once, including turns and hooks.

Left-rightCharacter structure

Keep the left side compact and leave enough room for the right side.

⺼Key radical

Use the highlighted radical in the animation as a visual anchor for remembering the form.

Print and practise

Download a 臊 writing sheet

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Includes the stroke sequence, progressive tracing, and blank writing squares. Generated locally in your browser.

Read and listen

Example sentences

Notice where 臊 sits in each complete thought.

Wǒ tì tā hài sào.我替他害臊。

I feel bad for him.

Source: Tatoeba #3106219 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Wǒ men méi lǐ yóu hài sào.我们没理由害臊。

We have no reason to feel ashamed.

Source: Tatoeba #7767664 · CC BY 2.0 FR
Turn reference into recall

How to study 臊 in context

  1. Say sāo / sào, then recall the core meaning: shy, bashful.
  2. Write all 17 strokes while keeping the left-right balanced.
  3. Use it in 臊气 (sāo qì), meaning “foul smell”.
  4. Read the complete sentence aloud once, then cover the translation and explain how 臊 works in that context.

Definitions and traditional forms are compiled from Make Me a Hanzi, HSK curriculum data, and CC-CEDICT. Sourced example sentences link to Tatoeba; editorial examples are labeled separately. Review data sources and licenses.