萧 (xiāo) is a Chinese character meaning “desolate”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 肃 (solemn; respectful), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “bleak; desolate”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
艹 + 肃
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 蕭，艾蒿也。从艸肅聲（肅 简化作 肃）；studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 11 笔核验：艹 3 笔 + 肃 8 笔）
Memory aid
Grass (艹) growing over something solemn (肃) — a quiet, desolate scene. That bleak stillness is 萧, as in 萧条 "bleak; slump".
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 萧条xiāo tiáobleak; desolate; (economic) depression or slump萧 = xiāo
Go deeper
All readings
desolate; bleak; (surname) Xiao
desolate; bleak; dreary; also a Chinese surname
冷落、凄凉的样子，如“萧条”。也用作姓。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 萧条xiāo tiáobleak; desolate; (economic) depression or slump萧 = xiāo
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 萧 mean?
萧 (xiāo) means desolate; bleak; dreary; also a Chinese surname.
How do you pronounce 萧?
It is pronounced xiāo.
What parts is 萧 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 肃 (solemn; respectful), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 蕭，艾蒿也。从艸肅聲（肅 简化作 肃）；studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 11 笔核验：艹 3 笔 + 肃 8 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 萧 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 萧?
艸. 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 萧?
Common ones are 萧条. The reading of 萧 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.