siu6劭
Jyutpingsiu6
Yalesiuh
Definition
To encourage or stimulate to effort; to excel.
- literaryto encourage; to stimulate to effort
- literaryto excel; excellent
writtenother
How it's used
This character is extremely rare in modern spoken Cantonese and is almost exclusively encountered in formal, literary, or classical contexts. Most native speakers would not use this in daily conversation, preferring common alternatives like 鼓勵 or 推動. It carries a sense of moral encouragement or urging someone toward excellence rather than just simple support.
Examples
He is working hard to motivate himself to study.
How do you encourage the people around you to improve?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistake this for a common verb, but using it in casual speech will sound highly unnatural or overly pretentious. It is better to stick to 鼓勵 for everyday communication.
Grammar color guide
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Verb
Adjective
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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.
