Meanings of 燒
Listen & Choose the Meaning
Choose the correct answer:
About 燒
Podcast: 燒
Podcast: 燒
Listen to Jason & Amy break down this word for you
New here?
AI Study Notes for 燒
烤 (kǎo, to roast) — use 燒 for burning or baking with a more intense heat, while 烤 is for roasting with a gentler heat.
Be careful not to confuse 燒 with other cooking verbs such as 煮 (zhǔ, to boil) or 炒 (chǎo, to stir-fry). 燒 is also used in informal contexts, but can be formal when describing cooking techniques in recipes. A common collocation is 燒肉 (shāo ròu, roasted meat).
While 燒 is not in the official HSK levels, it relates to cooking verbs found in HSK 3 and 4, such as 煮 (boil) and 炒 (stir-fry). Focus on understanding its usage in culinary contexts and how it combines with other characters to form phrases related to cooking.
Learners often confuse 燒 with 煮, mistakenly using it to describe boiling food. For example, saying '我在燒水' (wǒ zài shāo shuǐ, 'I am burning water') is incorrect; it should be '我在煮水' (wǒ zài zhǔ shuǐ, 'I am boiling water').
Pronunciation of 燒
Drill the tone of 燒 with AI-powered exercises, get instant feedback, and earn XP toward mastery. Interactive tone practice is part of Pro.
Etymology of 燒
Phonosemantic compound. 火 represents the meaning and 尧 represents the sound. Simplified form of 燒.
fire
Jason Etymology Detective
Case file: 燒
Phonosemantic compound. 火 represents the meaning and 尧 represents the sound. Simplified form of 燒.
- 1The meaning half火 carries the sense.
- 2The sound half堯 is there for the reading, not the meaning.
- 3The giveawayfire
- 4On the record aspictophonetic.
Every clue here comes from the character's recorded structure — nothing is guessed.
Want the full history of 燒? Jason searches the paleographic record, weighs the competing accounts and judges the popular story.
Charged once for this character — everyone reads it afterwards.Character Formation Type
What type of character formation is 燒?
Decomposition of 燒
Identify the Components
Which of these is a component of 燒?
How to say to burn, to bake; to heat, to roast in Chinese
“to burn, to bake; to heat, to roast” in Chinese is燒
The character 燒 (shāo) means 'to burn' or 'to bake,' typically referring to the process of applying heat to food items or materials. It can also imply the action of roasting or heating something until it is cooked or altered by fire. This term is commonly used in cooking contexts, indicating various methods of food preparation involving heat.
When to use 燒
Be careful not to confuse 燒 with other cooking verbs such as 煮 (zhǔ, to boil) or 炒 (chǎo, to stir-fry). 燒 is also used in informal contexts, but can be formal when describing cooking techniques in recipes. A common collocation is 燒肉 (shāo ròu, roasted meat).
燒 or something close to it
烤 (kǎo, to roast) — use 燒 for burning or baking with a more intense heat, while 烤 is for roasting with a gentler heat.
What learners get wrong
Learners often confuse 燒 with 煮, mistakenly using it to describe boiling food. For example, saying '我在燒水' (wǒ zài shāo shuǐ, 'I am burning water') is incorrect; it should be '我在煮水' (wǒ zài zhǔ shuǐ, 'I am boiling water').
Write 燒
New here? to save your writing progress and earn XP.
Practice writing 燒 stroke by stroke. Watch the animation to learn the stroke order, then try writing it yourself.
Word Family of 燒
Compound Meaning
What does 烧 mean?
Frequently Asked Questions about 燒
燒 is often used to describe methods of cooking involving heat, such as roasting or baking. For example, 燒肉 refers to roasted meat.
Jason Recommends
Not sure what to learn after 燒?
Jason picks three words from your level and explains why each one is worth your time next. It takes a free account so he knows what you already know.