萧条 (xiāotiáo) — depressed; bleak; desolate

Characters in this word

Strokes: 11
Radical: 艹 — grass, weed, plant, herb
Made of: 艹 grass, weed, plant, herb 肃 to pay respects
How it's built: Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound

受外部需求下降影响，这座港口城市一度陷入萧条。 Shòu wàibù xūqiú xiàjiàng yǐngxiǎng, zhè zuò gǎngkǒu chéngshì yídù xiànrù xiāotiáo. Affected by falling external demand, this port city once fell into depression.
冬天的海滩上一个人也没有，显得十分萧条。 Dōngtiān de hǎitān shàng yí ge rén yě méiyǒu, xiǎnde shífēn xiāotiáo. In winter there is not a soul on the beach, and it looks quite desolate.
经济不好的时候，街上的商店都很萧条，客人也少了。 Jīngjì bù hǎo de shíhou, jiē shàng de shāngdiàn dōu hěn xiāotiáo, kèrén yě shǎo le. When the economy is bad, the shops on the street are in the doldrums and there are fewer customers.