How to Write 杪 (miǎo) — Meaning “tip of a branch; end of a period”

Imagine a tree (木) where the highest branch has only "a few" (少) leaves left — that tiny top is the 杪 (treetop). For time, think of the year’s end as having only a few days left, so 岁杪 means the end of the year.

The left radical 木 must be written with a vertical stroke that crosses the horizontal stroke, and the bottom should have a slight hook. The right part 少 starts with a small left-falling stroke, then a dot, a left-curving throw, and a final short stroke — do not confuse the order of the dots. Common mistakes include making the 木 too wide or misplacing the right side’s small strokes.

朱 (zhū) means "vermilion" or "Zhu" as a surname; it has 木 on top and 一 across, with a different bottom shape. 朴 (pǔ) means "simple" or "unadorned" and is 木 plus 卜 (divination). In contrast, 杪 specifically refers to a branch tip or time end, and its right side is 少, not 朱 or 卜.

杪 is a formal or literary character, rarely used in daily conversation. You find it in set expressions like 树杪 (treetop), 岁杪 (end of the year), and 月杪 (end of the month), often in written reports, poetry, or official documents. It adds a classical, refined tone when talking about endings or treetops.

Common words containing 杪 include: 树杪 (shù miǎo) — Treetop; 岁杪 (suì miǎo) — End of the year; 月杪 (yuè miǎo) — end of the month.