硝

xiāo
#3,079 most
frequent character
saltpeter, to tan (leather)

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

硝 has 石 (stone) as its meaning part and 肖 xiào as a sound part. It first meant 'a mineral used to make gunpowder.' That grew to 'saltpeter,' and later 'to tan leather with a chemical.'

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Homophones

削xiāo
to peel with a knife, to pare
萧xiāo
(old) Chinese mugwort
消xiāo
to diminish, to subside, to consume
销xiāo
to melt (metal), to cancel, to annul

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