索

Tap the pinyin to hear it

to search; to demand; to ask; to exact; large rope; isolated

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Ideographic compound (会意字)

A rope 糸 hanging from the ceiling 冖

Components 十冖糸

large rope · Heisig RSH #2423

chapel + floss

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

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

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
利马索尔	Lì mǎ suǒ ěr	Limassol, Cyprus; Lemesos
索马利亚	Suǒ mǎ lì yà	(Tw) Somalia
南高加索	Nán Gāo jiā suǒ	Transcaucasia, aka the South Caucasus
外高加索	Wài Gāo jiā suǒ	Transcaucasia, aka the South Caucasus
美索不达米亚	Měi suǒ bù dá mǐ yà	Mesopotamia
索福克里斯	Suǒ fú kè lǐ sī	Sophocles (496-406 BC), Greek playwright
索马里	Suǒ mǎ lǐ	Somalia
索罗斯	Suǒ luó sī	Soros (name); George Soros or György Schwartz (1930-), Hungarian American financial specul…
加索尔	Jiā suǒ ěr	Gasol (name); Pau Gasol (1980-), former Spanish professional basketball player (NBA); Marc…
布基纳法索	Bù jī nà fǎ suǒ	Burkina Faso
布拉索夫	Bù lā suǒ fū	Braşov, Romania
索里亚	Suǒ lǐ yà	Soria, Spain
高加索	Gāo jiā suǒ	Caucasus; Caucasian
索罗门	Suǒ luó mén	Solomon (name); Solomon (Islands)
马托格罗索	Mǎ tuō gé luó suǒ	Mato Grosso, a state of Brazil
声索国	shēng suǒ guó	claimant country (in a territorial dispute)
神经索	shén jīng suǒ	nerve cord
不加思索	bù jiā sī suǒ	see 不假思索[bu4 jia3 si1 suo3]
索县	Suǒ Xiàn	Sog County or Sogxian, a county in Nagqu City 那曲市[Na4 qu3 Shi4], Tibet
索国	Suǒ guó	Somalia; Somaliland; (Tw) Solomon Islands; Suoguo, a state recorded in the Chinese histori…

These characters use 索 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
索 sound part	suǒ	cable, rope; rules, laws; to demand, to exact; to search, to inquire
嗦	suō	to suck