摇 yáo — shake; to rock
微风轻轻地摇动着树枝。Wēi fēng qīng qīng de yáo dòng zhe shù zhī.The breeze gently sways the branches.
Common words: 动摇 (dòng yáo)、摇头 (yáo tóu)、摇滚 (yáo gǔn)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "shake"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "shake", including 摇 (yáo), 震 (zhèn). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words, and examples.
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "shake" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 摇 (yáo), 震 (zhèn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span yáo, zhèn — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 摇 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 摇 yáoshake; to rockUseful words: 动摇, 摇头
- 震 zhènshake; shock; sign in trigramUseful words: 地震, 震惊
Common words for these 2 "shake" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 摇 (yáo) — so "shake" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "shake".
震 zhèn — shake; shock; sign in trigram
一声巨响震得窗户都在抖。Yì shēng jù xiǎng zhèn de chuāng hu dōu zài dǒu.A loud noise shook the windows.
Common words: 地震 (dì zhèn)、震惊 (zhèn jīng)、震撼 (zhèn hàn)
All 2 characters
Open 摇、震 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.