宵 (xiāo) is a Chinese character meaning “night”. It is written from 宀 (roof) and 肖 (to resemble; likeness), one above the other, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “night”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
宀 + 肖
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字「宵，夜也。从宀，宀下冥也；肖聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿱宀肖，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「宀」，笔画 3–9 与「肖」逐笔对应（3+7=10画）
Memory aid
Under a roof (宀) sits a likeness (肖) of someone you miss — you stare at it all through the night.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 元宵yuán xiāoLantern Festival (15th night of the first lunar month); sweet glutinous rice balls eaten then宵 = xiāo
- 通宵tōng xiāoall night long; overnight宵 = xiāo
Go deeper
All readings
night
night; nighttime
夜晚，夜里。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 元宵yuán xiāoLantern Festival (15th night of the first lunar month); sweet glutinous rice balls eaten then宵 = xiāo
- 通宵tōng xiāoall night long; overnight宵 = xiāo
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 宵 mean?
宵 (xiāo) means night; nighttime.
How do you pronounce 宵?
It is pronounced xiāo.
What parts is 宵 made of?
宀 (roof) and 肖 (to resemble; likeness), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字「宵，夜也。从宀，宀下冥也；肖聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿱宀肖，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「宀」，笔画 3–9 与「肖」逐笔对应（3+7=10画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 宵 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 宵?
宀. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 宵?
Common ones are 元宵 and 通宵. The reading of 宵 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.