梢 (shāo) is a Chinese character meaning “the thin tip of a branch”. It is written from 木 (tree; wood) and 肖 (to resemble; likeness), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “tip of a branch”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
木 + 肖
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字（梢：从木，肖声）；现代字形按 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（木4 + 肖7 = 11 笔）
Memory aid
木 on the left is a tree. 肖 on the right carries the sound (xiào → shāo). Where on a tree? The thin tip at the very top — 梢, as in 树梢, the treetop.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 树梢shùshāotreetop; the tip of a tree梢 = shāo
- 眉梢méishāothe tip of the eyebrow梢 = shāo
Go deeper
All readings
tip of a branch
the thin tip of a branch; the tip or end of something long and slender
树枝的末端；泛指条状物较细的末尾部分。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 树梢shùshāotreetop; the tip of a tree梢 = shāo
- 眉梢méishāothe tip of the eyebrow梢 = shāo
Sound component
肖 family
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 梢 mean?
梢 (shāo) means the thin tip of a branch; the tip or end of something long and slender.
How do you pronounce 梢?
It is pronounced shāo.
What parts is 梢 made of?
木 (tree; wood) and 肖 (to resemble; likeness), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字（梢：从木，肖声）；现代字形按 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（木4 + 肖7 = 11 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 梢 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 梢?
木. 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 梢?
Common ones are 树梢 and 眉梢. The reading of 梢 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.