How to Write 艄 (shāo) — Meaning “Stern of a boat”

Picture a boat (舟) with a little "shao" (like "shout") sign on its back end to mark the stern. The right part 肖 looks like a small person (小) standing on a crescent moon (月) at the rear of the boat. This visual helps you recall that 艄 means the boat's stern.

Write the radical 舟 first with 6 strokes, making it narrow and slightly curved. Then add the right part 肖: first the small 小 (three strokes) and then the 月 (four strokes); ensure the top 小 is not too wide. A common mistake is making the 舟 too wide or mixing up the order of strokes in 肖.

艄 (shāo) specifically means the stern of a boat and is used in words like 船艄 and 艄公. 舲 (líng) refers to a small boat with a cabin, often used in ancient texts. 舳 (zhú) also means the stern, but it is more literary and appears in classical compounds like 舳舻; in modern Chinese, 艄 is far more common for everyday use.

艄 appears mainly in the words 船艄 (the stern of a boat) and 艄公 (a boatman, especially one who steers). It is not in the HSK list, but you may encounter it in stories about river life or Chinese folk culture, where the 艄公 is a familiar character in songs and tales along the Yangtze River.

Common words containing 艄 include: 船艄 (chuán shāo) — Stern of a boat; 掌艄 (zhǎng shāo) — to steer a boat; 艄公 (shāo gōng) — Boatman; helmsman.