Meanings of 煮
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About 煮
Podcast: 煮
Podcast: 煮
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AI Study Notes for 煮
煮 (zhǔ) vs 炖 (dùn) — use 煮 for boiling, while 炖 refers to slow cooking or stewing.
Learners often confuse 煮 with other cooking verbs like 烤 (kǎo, to roast) or 炒 (chǎo, to stir-fry). 煮 is typically used in informal contexts when discussing home cooking, while more formal culinary language may use other terms. Be careful with the third tone, as it can affect meaning in different contexts.
As an HSK Level 5 word, 煮 connects well with other cooking-related terms such as 烹饪 (pēngrèn, cooking) and 食物 (shíwù, food). Students should focus on using it in sentences that describe cooking methods and practice its pronunciation.
Learners sometimes mistakenly use 煮 to imply grilling or frying, leading to sentences like '我煮鸡肉在锅里' (I boiled chicken in the pan), which should be '我煎鸡肉在锅里' (I pan-fried the chicken). Correct usage should specify boiling only.
Pronunciation of 煮
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Its meaning, its character, its pinyin, its tone — hearing it, saying it, writing it. The Learning Lab measures each one from your own practice, on every word you study, so you see what you actually know rather than how much you have done.
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Etymology of 煮
Phonosemantic compound. 灬 represents the meaning and 者 represents the sound. Simplified form of 煑.
fire
Origin
煮 = 灬 + 者. What kind of character does that make it?
Decomposition of 煮
Parts
Which of these is part of 煮?
How to say to boil, to cook in Chinese
“to boil, to cook” in Chinese is煮
The character 煮 (zhǔ) means 'to boil' or 'to cook,' typically referring to the process of cooking food in water or broth. It is commonly used in culinary contexts and implies a method of preparing food that involves heating it to a temperature that causes boiling.
When to use 煮
Learners often confuse 煮 with other cooking verbs like 烤 (kǎo, to roast) or 炒 (chǎo, to stir-fry). 煮 is typically used in informal contexts when discussing home cooking, while more formal culinary language may use other terms. Be careful with the third tone, as it can affect meaning in different contexts.
煮 or something close to it
煮 (zhǔ) vs 炖 (dùn) — use 煮 for boiling, while 炖 refers to slow cooking or stewing.
What learners get wrong
Learners sometimes mistakenly use 煮 to imply grilling or frying, leading to sentences like '我煮鸡肉在锅里' (I boiled chicken in the pan), which should be '我煎鸡肉在锅里' (I pan-fried the chicken). Correct usage should specify boiling only.
Write 煮
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Practice writing 煮 stroke by stroke. Watch the animation to learn the stroke order, then try writing it yourself.
Grammar Patterns of 煮
煮 functions as a verb — the action or state of the sentence. The Chinese order is Subject + Verb + Object (我吃饭). Negate it with 不 (habitual / future) or 没(有) (completed action). Add aspect markers like 了, 过, 着 directly after the verb. The patterns below break down its most common sentence frames, with example sentences and practice buttons (Listen, Practice Writing, Practice Speaking) for each one.
Used to emphasize the action of cooking, particularly in specifying the method or time.
这道菜是我煮的。
This dish was cooked by me.
Build it
Put the words in order to say “This dish was cooked by me.”.
Common Confusions with 煮
Both relate to cooking but 烹 usually refers to a more elaborate cooking method.
煮 is the act of boiling, while 煮熟 indicates that the food is cooked through.
这汤还没煮熟。
煮 is the act of boiling, while 煮熟 indicates that the food is cooked through.
Which one
Which one means “to boil, to cook”?
Usage Notes for 煮
Learners often confuse 煮 with other cooking verbs like 炒 (to stir-fry) or 烤 (to roast).
我把肉煮了。
I boiled the meat.
Get it right
Type the missing word. Pinyin works; then pick the character.
我把肉____了。
I boiled the meat.
Example Sentences for 煮 (10)
Rebuild it
Rebuild it: “You will need a pot of broth for poaching.”
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Word Family of 煮
Words with 煮
What does 煮饭 mean?
Frequently Asked Questions about 煮
煮 specifically refers to boiling or cooking in water, while verbs like 烤 and 炒 refer to roasting and stir-frying, respectively.
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