How to Write 傚 (xiào) — Meaning “to imitate; to follow; to mimic”

Picture a person (亻) watching a model (效) and trying to copy their every move. The right side 效 can be broken into 交 (cross) and 攵 (hand), suggesting the person crosses their hands while imitating.

Write the left radical 亻 first with a slanted stroke and a short vertical. Then write the right part 效: start with the dot of 交, then the horizontal, and finish with the 攵 strokes. Make sure the whole character is balanced and not too wide.

Visually, 傚 has 效 on the right, 俯 has 府 (a building), and 俱 has 具 (a tool). In meaning, 傚 is about imitating or serving, 俯 means to bow down, and 俱 means all or together. So they look and mean very different things.

傚 appears mainly in formal or literary phrases like 傚法 (to emulate) and 傚仿 (to imitate). It is rarely used in daily conversation; most speakers prefer the simpler character 效 instead. You may encounter 傚 in older texts or when discussing following a role model.

Common words containing 傚 include: 傚法 (xiào fǎ) — to follow the example of; to emulate; 傚力 (xiào lì) — to serve; to render service to; 傚仿 (xiào fǎng) — to imitate; to follow the example of.