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How to Write 腰 (yāo) — Meaning “waist”

yāo HSK Level 4 13 strokes Radical: ⺼

腰 (yāo) means "waist" in Chinese. It has 13 strokes with the radical ⺼, and is HSK Level 4.

Rated 4.2/5 in difficulty (advanced).

Harder than 89% of HSK Level 4 characters.

Appears in 3+ common words including 腰疼 (yāo téng), 弯腰 (wān yāo), 裤腰 (kù yāo).

Due to its 13 strokes, Hanzi Writer's error detection shows 腰 requires focused practice — most learners need 10+ attempts for consistent accuracy.

Stroke order practice for 腰 - yāo

Practice Writing 腰 (yāo)

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How to Write 腰

The character 腰 (yāo) is written with 13 strokes. Follow the standard Chinese stroke order: top to bottom, left to right, outside before inside. The radical ⺼ is one of its key components.

Practice the correct stroke order with the Hanzi Writer app to see animated stroke-by-stroke guidance with real-time feedback.

What Does yāo (腰) Mean in Chinese?

腰 means waist.

As an HSK Level 4 character, 腰 is an intermediate-level character.

Character Data

Character腰
Pinyinyāo (yao)
Meaningwaist
Strokes13
Radical⺼
HSK Level4
Difficulty4.2/5

Origin of 腰

腰 combines the flesh radical ⺼ (meat/body part) with 要, which originally depicted a person with hands on their waist—the ancient form of 要 itself meant 'waist' before it was borrowed for 'to want'. Adding the meat radical specifies the physical body part, creating the current character for 'waist'.

💡 Memory Tip: Imagine a person (要) whose fleshy waist (⺼) is so important (要) that they always keep their hands on it.

Common Words with 腰

腰疼 yāo téng
backache
弯腰 wān yāo
To bend over
裤腰 kù yāo
Waistband of trousers

Example Sentences

我的腰疼了一天。

wǒ de yāo téng le yī tiān

My lower back has been hurting all day.

请不要弯腰拿东西。

qǐng bú yào wān yāo ná dōng xī

Please don't bend over to pick things up.

这条裤腰太紧了。

zhè tiáo kù yāo tài jǐn le

The waistband of these pants is too tight.

Similar Characters Comparison

Character Pinyin Strokes Radical
腰 (current) yāo 13 ⺼
脚 jiǎo 11 ⺼
脱 tuō 11 ⺼
脸 liǎn 11 ⺼
Stroke order practice for 腰 - yāo

Practice Writing 腰 (yāo)

Open Hanzi Writer to see the animated stroke order and practice writing 腰 with real-time feedback.

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Frequently Asked Questions about 腰

The left side is the radical ⺼ (meat/flesh), which indicates body parts. The right side is 要 (yào, 'to want'), which gives the sound. Together, they form the character for 'waist', a part of the body.

More HSK Level 4 Characters

阿ā/ē姨yí矮ǎi置zhì暗àn巴ba/bā士shì货huò摆bǎi脱tuō败bài裹guǒ含hán括kuò薄báo/bó/bò宝bǎo贝bèi密mì守shǒu抱bào

Characters with Radical ⺼

㐆yǐn肝gān肠cháng股gǔ肥féi肩jiān肯kěn肺fèi肾shèn肿zhǒng

Other 13-Stroke Characters

䧹yīng亶dǎn催cuī傺chì傻shǎ傿yàn像xiàng剽piāo剿jiǎo勤qín