Chinese symbol for “crank”
摇
yáo
Traditional: 搖
to shake; to rock; to row; to crank
The closest CC-CEDICT match for crank is 摇 (yáo), defined as: to shake; to rock; to row; to crank.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “crank”
Related words
Other words that share a character with 摇.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 动摇 (動搖) | dòng yáo | to sway; to waver |
| 摇滚 (搖滾) | yáo gǔn | rock 'n' roll (music); to rock |
| 摇晃 (搖晃) | yáo huàng | to rock; to shake; to sway |
| 摇摆 (搖擺) | yáo bǎi | to sway; to wobble |
| 摇头 (搖頭) | yáo tóu | to shake one's head |
| 摇篮 (搖籃) | yáo lán | cradle (for a baby); (fig.) cradle; birthplace (of a civilization, movement etc) |
See also: Japanese symbol for “crank”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.