Ideographic: An oven 穴 where pots 缶 are fired; 缶 also provides the pronunciationRadical:

meaning for yáo:

  • - kiln
  • - oven
  • - coal pit
  • - cave dwelling
  • - (coll.) brothelyaodong (a kind of cave dwelling in the Loess Plateau in northwest China)
  • - Classifiers: 孔 brick kilnearthen kiln
  • - loess cave(dialect) prostituteerhua variant of 窑姐