How to Write 鸮 (xiāo) — Meaning “Owl”

Think of an owl making a loud "hoot" sound: the left part 号 looks like a horn or trumpet, and the right part 鸟 means bird. So you can imagine an owl holding a horn to hoot. This connects the shape 号 to the owl's call, helping you remember 鸮 means 'owl'.

The stroke order is left then right: first write 号 (5 strokes: vertical, horizontal, horizontal, vertical hook, horizontal), then 鸟 (5 strokes: short left stroke, horizontal, horizontal fold, vertical, horizontal). A common mistake is making the left part 号 too wide or uneven, which throws off the balance; keep both sides similar in width.

鸮 (xiāo) means 'owl' and has 号 on the left and 鸟 on the right. 袅 (niǎo) means 'slender' or 'winding' and is composed of 鸟 on top and 衣 (clothing) on the bottom. 鸢 (yuān) means 'kite (bird)' and has 弋 (yi) on top and 鸟 below. Their meanings and shapes are clearly different.

鸮 is rarely used alone; it appears mainly in formal or literary compounds like 猫头鸮 (māo tóu xiāo, meaning 'owl') and 鸱鸮 (chī xiāo, a classical term for owl). In traditional Chinese culture, owls are sometimes seen as omens of bad luck because they are nocturnal, but in modern contexts this belief is fading. The character is not part of the HSK vocabulary.

Common words containing 鸮 include: 猫头鸮 (māo tóu xiāo) — owl; 鸮鸟 (xiāo niǎo) — Owl bird; 鸱鸮 (chī xiāo) — owl.