炒 meaning and stroke order
To sauté; to stir-fry; to speculate (in real estate etc); to scalp; to hype up
How to write 炒, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 炒
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to sauté; to stir-fry
- to speculate (in real estate etc); to scalp
- to hype up
- to sack; to fire (sb)
How 炒 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Fire.
火 gives the meaning and 少 hints at the sound.
Radical: 火 (fire), shared by 128 characters on this site.
How to remember 炒
炒 combines fire 火 (the meaning part) with 少 (shǎo), which gives the sound. Picture a wok over fire 火 where you toss a little 少 food quickly so it cooks fast.
炒 is the everyday verb for stir-frying and appears in many dish names like 炒饭 (chǎofàn, fried rice) and 炒面 (chǎomiàn, chow mein). It also has slang meanings: speculating in markets 炒股 (chǎogǔ), hyping something 炒作 (chǎozuò), and firing someone. Example: 我会做蛋炒饭。(Wǒ huì zuò dàn chǎofàn.) I can make egg fried rice.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 炒 (chǎo) with 吵 (chǎo, noisy), since both use 少 for the sound and have the same tone. Remember that cooking needs fire 火, while noise comes from the mouth 口.
Common words with 炒
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
炒 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 炒
How many strokes are in 炒?
炒 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 炒 mean?
炒 (chǎo) means to sauté; to stir-fry; to speculate (in real estate etc); to scalp; to hype up. A common word with it is 炒作 (chǎozuò), meaning "to hype; to promote (in the media)".
How do you pronounce 炒?
炒 is pronounced chǎo, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 炒?
The radical of 炒 is 火, which carries the idea of "fire". Dictionaries list 炒 under this radical.
Is 炒 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 炒 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does 炒鱿鱼 mean to fire someone?
炒鱿鱼 (chǎoyóuyú) literally means to stir-fry squid. It is colloquial slang for being fired. A common way to use it is 他被老板炒鱿鱼了 (Tā bèi lǎobǎn chǎo yóuyú le), his boss fired him. You can also just say 炒 with a person as the object.
What is the difference between 炒 and 炸 for cooking?
炒 (chǎo) means stir-frying with a little oil while tossing the food. 炸 (zhá) means deep-frying in a lot of oil, as in 炸鸡 (zhájī), fried chicken.