siu4韶
Jyutpingsiu4
Yalesìuh
Definition
Splendid or beautiful, especially when describing one's youth or days.
writtentimedescriptions
How it's used
This character is almost exclusively used in formal or literary contexts to describe the beauty of one's youth. It is not a word used in everyday casual speech, but rather appears in written prose, poetry, or when someone is being particularly poetic or nostalgic about the passage of time. It carries a sense of elegance and fleeting beauty that standard words for youth do not possess.
Examples
One's youthful years are most worth cherishing.
She is in the prime of her life and should work hard.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistake this for a common adjective that can be used to describe people or objects directly, but it is a bound morpheme that almost always requires being paired with 華 to form the compound 韶華.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.
- Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.
- 將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.
