xiao

X8I1A1O1
/ʃjaʊ/

noun

A type of Chinese flute.

Similar
Siau
OriginMandarin 簫 /箫 →
Less commonScrabble 11
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

xiao1

nounxiao (plural xiaos)

plural xiaos

  1. A type of Chinese flute.

    Chou studied violin and erhu (a two-stringed Chinese fiddle) and tried to emulate his second brother by dabbling in the harmonica, mandolin, xiao (a vertical Chinese flute), and the musical saw.

    2006, Peter M. Chang, Chou Wen-Chung: The Life and Work of a Contemporary Chinese-born American Composer

Xiao2

proper nounXiao (plural Xiaos)

plural Xiaos · alternative Hsiao

  1. A surname.

    Synonyms: Siau

Xiao3

proper noun

alternative Hsiao

  1. Usually attached to a surname, signifying a little one, junior, small guy, younger person.

Synonyms & antonyms

proper nounA surname.

Similar
Siau

Origin

xiao · noun

  1. Mandarin簫 /箫
  2. Englishxiao

Borrowed the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 簫 /箫 (xiāo).

More words from Mandarin

Full word history & related roots →

Xiao · proper noun

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of Mandarin for 肖 (Xiāo) and 蕭／萧 (Xiāo).

Full word history & related roots →

Xiao · proper noun

Borrowed from Mandarin 小 (xiǎo).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 簫 /箫, 洞簫 /洞箫
  • 簫 /箫 (xiāo)Chinese flute
  • 洞簫 /洞箫 (dòngxiāo)Chinese flute
Japanese 簫
  • 簫 (shō)Chinese flute
Korean 소
  • 소 (so)Chinese flute
Russian сяо
  • сяо (sjao)Chinese flute
Thai เซียว
  • เซียว (siao)Chinese flute
Vietnamese tiêu
  • tiêuChinese flute

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

oxia
Cite this entry
APA

xiao. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/xiao

MLA

“xiao.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/xiao. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “xiao,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/xiao.

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