How to Write 梢 (shāo) — Meaning “tip of a branch; end”

Think of a tree (木) and then picture a small (小) moon (月) hanging at the tip of a branch. The top part of 肖 looks like 小 (small) and the bottom part looks like 月 (moon), so imagine a tiny moon at the treetop. This helps you recall that 梢 means tip or end.

Pay attention to the stroke order of the right part 肖: first a vertical stroke, then two dots, then a horizontal line, then another vertical, a horizontal fold hook, and finally a horizontal line. A common mistake is making the two dots too big or connecting them; keep them small and separate. Also make sure the left 木 radical is narrower than the right side to keep the character balanced.

All three have the same left radical 木 (tree), but the right part changes the meaning completely. 枯 has 古 (ancient, dry) and means withered or dry. 枰 has 平 (flat) and refers to a chessboard. 梢 has 肖 and always relates to tips or ends, like treetops or hair tips. Visually, the top of 肖 has two small dots, while 枯 has a ten-like shape and 枰 has a flat top.

梢 is used in common words such as 树梢 (treetop), 眉梢 (tip of the eyebrow), and 发梢 (hair tips). It is not part of the HSK vocabulary but appears in everyday descriptions of nature or body parts. In Chinese culture, the phrase 眉梢 can also be used figuratively to describe someone's expression, like happiness showing at the tips of their eyebrows.

Common words containing 梢 include: 树梢 (shù shāo) — Treetop / Tip of a branch; 眉梢 (méi shāo) — the tip of the eyebrow; 发梢 (fā shāo) — Tips of the hair.