Chou Collection, Upper Volume Radical: Mouth (kǒu) Character: ao Kangxi stroke count: 14 Page 204, Entry 15 Pronounced ao. According to the Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters (Shuowen Jiezi), it was originally written as ao, representing the sound of a crowd lamenting. In the Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital (Xijing Zaji), it appears in a description of birds gathering and calling out with a noisy, clamorous sound. In the Jade Anthology (Yupian), it is written as ao. In the Meeting of Rhymes (Yunhui), it is used interchangeably with the characters pronounced xiao, ao, ao, and ao. The character consists of the mouth radical and the phonetic component ao.