siao

/sjaʊ˦˨/

//sjaʊ˦˨// adj

"siao" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“siao” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
4
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Mad; crazy

Corpus desk

Index EN-siao · siao · English

siao · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for siao
PropertyValue
Headwordsiao
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/sjaʊ˦˨/
Letters4
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “siao” in English

siaosits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

siao is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /sjaʊ˦˨/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Mad; crazy".

Zero misspellings are on record for siao in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Hokkien 痟 (siáu, “mad; crazy”). The correct English form is siao, spelled S-I-A-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    Mad; crazy

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how siao appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. […] Then why am I labelled mad, siow, crazy, mental, psycho, cuck-… and not you?
  2. Siao, man, he said. That’s another thing I’m never telling Sherry.

Etymology

From Hokkien 痟 (siáu, “mad; crazy”).

Synonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "siao"?
"siao" is spelled S-I-A-O. The IPA pronunciation is /sjaʊ˦˨/.
What does "siao" mean?
As an adjective, "siao" means: Mad; crazy
How do you pronounce "siao"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "siao" is /sjaʊ˦˨/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "siao"?
From Hokkien 痟 (siáu, “mad; crazy”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list