Pronunciation

Characters pronounced xiu.

9 name characters share this pronunciation across tones. Pinyin alone does not identify a character; choose the Hanzi you want.

All 9 characters are listed below. Each links to its own page with meaning, structure, and names that use it.

嗅 xiù smell, scent, sniff; olfactive 秀 xiù elegant · natural ear of grain; flowering, luxuriant; refined, elegant, graceful 绣 xiù embroider; embroidery; ornament 袖 xiù sleeve; put something in sleeve 锈 xiù rust, corrode 休 xiū rest, stop; retire; do not! 修 xiū scholarly · elegant to cultivate 羞 xiū disgrace, shame; ashamed; shy 朽 xiǔ decayed, rotten; rot, decay

Why several characters share one pinyin

Mandarin has many homophones. Tone narrows the sound, but different characters can still share the same syllable and tone. The Hanzi is the identity; the pinyin is only the sound.

Browse all name characters or use Search to look up a character by meaning.