Character

丑

chǒu HSK 7

丑 chǒu HSK 7

1. the second of the twelve Earthly Branches
2. a surname
3. ugly; unsightly (opposite of 美)
4. disgusting; contemptible
5. (dial.) bad; poor
6. clown role in traditional Chinese opera, with white powder on the nose bridge; divided into civil clown (文丑) and martial clown (武丑); also called 小花脸 or 三花脸
7. the Chǒu period; one of the twelve two-hour periods, from 1 to 3 a.m.
8. shameful or disgraceful matter

Words using 丑 as chǒu (5)

1 丑恶 chǒu è — ugly and evil HSK 7
- 丑 ugly, hideous
- 恶 evil, wicked
Example

社会上的丑恶现象应该被揭露。

shè huì shàng de chǒu è xiàn xiàng yīng gāi bèi jiē lù

Ugly and evil phenomena in society should be exposed.
2 丑闻 chǒu wén — scandal HSK 7
- 丑 shameful, disgraceful, ugly
- 闻 news, report, information
Example

这个政治丑闻震惊了全国。

zhè ge zhèng zhì chǒu wén zhèn jīng le quán guó

This political scandal shocked the whole nation.
3 丑陋 chǒu lòu — ugly HSK 7
- 丑 ugly, unsightly
- 陋 crude, shabby, inferior
Example

这座建筑虽然丑陋，但很实用。

zhè zuò jiàn zhù suī rán chǒu lòu dàn hěn shí yòng

Although this building is ugly, it is very practical.
4 出丑 chū chǒu — to make a fool of oneself HSK 7
- 出 to come out, to expose, to reveal publicly
- 丑 shameful, disgraceful, embarrassing
Example

我不想在大家面前出丑。

wǒ bù xiǎng zài dà jiā miàn qián chū chǒu

I don't want to make a fool of myself in front of everyone.
5 小丑 xiǎo chǒu — clown HSK 7
- 小 small; minor (forms compound with 丑 to mean 'clown')
- 丑 clown role (from traditional Chinese opera); ugly; comedic character
Example

马戏团的小丑表演很有趣。

mǎ xì tuán de xiǎo chǒu biǎo yǎn hěn yǒu qù

The circus clown's performance is very interesting.

Structure & writing

丑 chǒu — the second of the twelve Earthly Branches

丑 is a component in 4 characters

HSK 4

羞 xiū feel embarrassed; be bashful; shy

HSK 6

扭 niǔ to turn from one direction to another

HSK 7

纽 niǔ handle or loop on an object for lifting or hanging 钮 niǔ same as "纽"

丑 is an atomic character — it does not decompose further.

Stroke order