萧 xiāo mournful
mournful; desolate
How it came to be
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
Originally: mugwort
Grass gives the meaning and the lower part the sound; the word first named a kind of mugwort.
用法
- 'Desolate, bleak', chiefly in 萧条 (xiāotiáo), the standard word for economic depression/slump: 经济萧条 (jīngjì xiāotiáo) an economic downturn, or a 萧条 (deserted, cheerless) street.
- Also a common surname. The bleakness is atmospheric: cold, empty, lifeless.