翔

翔 means to fly with a circling or soaring motion. It names a way of moving through the air, not movement in general, and appears in compounds about flight, soaring, and gliding.

The Shuowen Jiezi, a Han-era dictionary completed around 100 CE, defines 翔 as circling flight. Its analysis treats 羽, “feather,” as the meaning component and 羊 as the sound component.

Other Chinese dictionary senses include choosing a resting place, walking with arms spread, something detailed or auspicious, and rising prices. In common compounds, 飛翔 means flight, 滑翔 means gliding, and 翱翔 suggests expansive soaring.

Why can 翔 mean something rude online?

It can be a feces euphemism in Chinese internet slang. A Chinese-language account records this use in 2025, after an online harassment episode involving a person named Li Xiang; there, 翔 is a vulgar joke, not a poetic flight word.

That split matters across language contexts: a Chinese-language reader may catch the vulgar joke, while a Japanese reader may see a person's name or a flight-themed word. If there is no sentence or language clue, ask the sender what they mean before echoing it.

How do you read 翔 in Japanese names?

Shō is common, but 翔 does not fix a Japanese name's reading. A study of Japanese baby-name lists covering 2004–2018 records 翔 as a one-character boy's name, with readings including Shō (roughly “show,” with a held o), Kakeru (ka-ke-ru), Tsubasa (tsu-ba-sa), and Sora (so-ra).

Parents can choose a reading for its image of wings, flight, or sky, even when it is not the character's usual sound. Ask the person how to say their name; do not guess from 翔 alone.