Yao

Y4A1O1

noun

A Bantu people living in Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania in Africa.

OriginChinese 姚 →
Less commonScrabble 6
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Meanings

Yao1

nounYao pl (plural only)
  1. pluralplural onlyA Bantu people living in Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania in Africa.
proper noun
  1. The language of these people.

Yao2

nounYao pl (plural only)
  1. pluralplural onlyThe Mien people of China.

Yao3

proper noun
  1. A Chinese surname from Hokkien.
  2. A Chinese surname from Mandarin.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
wayao

Origin

Yao · noun

Borrowed from Mandarin 瑤／瑶 (yáo).

Full word history & related roots →

Yao · proper noun

  1. Chinese姚
  2. EnglishYao

From various romanizations of the Mandarin and Hokkien pronunciations of Chinese 姚 (Yáo/Iâu). Doublet of Yiu.

More words from Chinese

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 瑤族 /瑶族
  • 瑤族 /瑶族 (Yáozú)ethnic group in China
Irish Iaois
  • Iaoislanguage in Africa
Russian я́о, я́о
  • я́о (jáo)ethnic group in Africa
  • я́о (jáo)ethnic group in China
Swahili Wayao, Kiyao
  • Wayaoethnic group in Africa
  • Kiyaolanguage in Africa
Vietnamese người Dao
  • người Daoethnic group in China

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

ayoAoY
Cite this entry
APA

Yao. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yao

MLA

“Yao.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yao. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Yao,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Yao.

Source: Yao on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.