How to Write 晓 (xiǎo) — Meaning “dawn; to know”

Imagine the sun (日) slowly rising over a mountain at dawn, and a rooster yawns (尧 sounds like "yawn") to announce the morning. This links the sun to the idea of dawn. The word 晓得 also means "to know," so picture the sun "knowing" it is time to rise.

Start by writing the left radical 日 (4 strokes) small and narrow. Then write the right part 尧, which has a slanted hook (斜钩) that extends downward and then curves right. A common mistake is making the right side too wide or forgetting the hook; keep the two parts balanced horizontally.

旺 (wàng) means "prosperous" and uses 王 (king) on the right, not 尧. 昀 (yún) means "sunlight" and uses 匀 (even). 晓 means "dawn" or "to know." Visually, 晓’s right side has a hook, while 旺 and 昀 do not.

晓 appears in literary or formal contexts, such as the poem title 春晓 (Spring Morning). It is also common in verbs like 晓得 (to know) and 知晓 (to be aware of), though 晓得 is more colloquial in some dialects. It is rarely used alone for "dawn" in daily speech, where 早上 or 黎明 are preferred.

Common words containing 晓 include: 晓得 (xiǎo de) — to know; 知晓 (zhī xiǎo) — To know; to be aware of.; 春晓 (chūn xiǎo) — Spring Morning.