姚

A phono-semantic compound, consists of:

女 (women) — semantic component, indicates relation to women or feminine qualities;

兆 — phonetic component, provides pronunciation (yo) and contributes to the sound.

Thus the character originally conveyed a graceful or beautiful woman.

Semantic development:

- beautiful and charming (especially feminine beauty);

- graceful appearance;

- ancient clan name → surname 姚.

Because it was used early as a clan name, the surname meaning became historically important.

Rare in general vocabulary.

Primarily used as a surname:

요씨 (姚氏)

Related characters:

兆 — omen; trillion (phonetic source)

窕 — slender; graceful

挑 — to pick; provoke (same phonetic series)

Historical note:

The surname 姚 is very ancient. It is associated with legendary figures such as 舜 (순 / Shun) — one of the Five Emperors in Chinese tradition, whose clan name is sometimes linked to 姚.

Though not extremely common in Korea today, 姚 has played a significant role in Chinese history.