Save Gender Feminine & Masculine Usage Chinese Scripts 曉, 小, 霄, etc.(Chinese) Pronounced Pron. SHI-OW [key] Meaning & History From Chinese 曉 (xiǎo) meaning "dawn; daybreak", 小 (xiǎo) meaning "small, tiny" or 霄 (xiāo) meaning "sky, heaven; clouds, mist". Other meanings of this character or other characters with the same sound are possible.