描

Tap the pinyin to hear it

to depict; to trace (a drawing); to copy; to touch up

Sound it out + + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

扌 meaning “hand” + 苗 sound ( miáo )

Components 扌苗

describe · Heisig RSH #1846

fingers + tomato seedling

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
电脑断层扫描	diàn nǎo duàn céng sǎo miáo	CAT scan; CT scan
人物描写	rén wù miáo xiě	portrayal
越描越黑	yuè miáo yuè hēi	lit. the more you touch things up, the darker they get; fig. to only make matters worse
数码扫描	shù mǎ sǎo miáo	a digital scan
超声扫描	chāo shēng sǎo miáo	ultrasonic scan
断层扫描	duàn céng sǎo miáo	CT scan (computed tomography scan)
白描	bái miáo	line drawing in traditional ink-and-brush style; simple and straightforward style of writi…
描金	miáo jīn	to outline in gold
描红	miáo hóng	to trace over red characters (as a method of learning to write); paper printed with red ch…
隔行扫描	gé háng sǎo miáo	interlaced scanning
扫描器	sǎo miáo qì	scanner
回描	huí miáo	flyback (of electron beam in cathode ray tube); retrace
素描	sù miáo	sketch
描图	miáo tú	to trace
轻描淡写	qīng miáo dàn xiě	(idiom) to treat sth as no big deal; to downplay; to understate
逐行扫描	zhú háng sǎo miáo	progressive scanning
描画	miáo huà	to draw; to describe
扫描仪	sǎo miáo yí	scanner (device)
描写	miáo xiě	to describe; to depict; to portray; depiction; portrayal
扫描	sǎo miáo	to scan

Characters sharing the sound component 苗 — compare how they read.