烧 meaning and stroke order
To burn; to set on fire; to heat (over a fire); to boil (water, tea etc); to braise
How to write 烧, stroke by stroke
10 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 烧
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to burn; to set on fire
- to heat (over a fire); to boil (water, tea etc)
- to braise
- to cook; to prepare food
- to run a fever
- fever
How 烧 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Fire.
火 gives the meaning and 尧 hints at the sound.
Radical: 火 (fire), shared by 128 characters on this site.
How to remember 烧
烧 (shāo) puts fire 火 on the left and 尧 (yáo) on the right, which hints at the sound. Picture a fire 火 burning beside something tall to remember "to burn."
烧 covers burning, heating, and cooking. It is common in 烧水 (boil water), 红烧 (braise in soy sauce), and 发烧 (have a fever). Example: 我发烧了。(Wǒ fāshāo le.) I have a fever.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 烧 with 浇 (jiāo, to pour water) and 晓 (xiǎo, dawn), which share the 尧 part. Check the left side: fire 火 for burning, water 氵 for pouring, sun 日 for dawn.
Common words with 烧
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 燃烧 | ránshāo | to ignite; to combust | HSK 4 |
| 发烧 | fāshāo | to have a high temperature (from illness); to have a fever; (fig.) to be fascinated with; | HSK 4 |
| 烧毁 | shāohuǐ | to destroy (or be destroyed) by fire | HSK 7-9 |
| 烧烤 | shāokǎo | barbecue; to roast | HSK 7-9 |
| 焚烧 | fénshāo | to burn; to set on fire | HSK 7-9 |
| 烧死 | shāosǐ | to burn to death | |
| 烧伤 | shāoshāng | burn (injury) | |
| 火烧 | huǒshāo | to set fire to; to burn down | |
| 烧焦 | shāojiāo | to burn; to scorch | |
| 烧酒 | shāojiǔ | name of a famous Tang dynasty wine; same as 白酒[bai2 jiu3] | |
| 燃烧弹 | ránshāodàn | fire bomb; incendiary device | |
| 高烧 | gāoshāo | (medicine) high fever | |
| 叉烧 | chāshāo | char siu; barbecued pork |
烧 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 烧
How many strokes are in 烧?
烧 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 烧 mean?
烧 (shāo) means to burn; to set on fire; to heat (over a fire); to boil (water, tea etc); to braise. A common word with it is 燃烧 (ránshāo), meaning "to ignite; to combust".
How do you pronounce 烧?
烧 is pronounced shāo, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 烧?
The radical of 烧 is 火, which carries the idea of "fire". Dictionaries list 烧 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 烧?
The traditional form of 烧 is 燒. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 烧 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 烧 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 烧 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
How do you say "boil water" in Chinese?
The everyday phrase is 烧水 (shāo shuǐ). For example, 我去烧水。(Wǒ qù shāo shuǐ.) means "I'll go boil some water." You can also say 烧开水 (shāo kāishuǐ).
What is the difference between 烧 and 烤?
烤 (kǎo) means to roast or bake with dry heat, as in 烤鸭 (roast duck). 烧 is broader and can mean to burn, to heat, or to braise, as in 红烧肉 (braised pork). They also combine as 烧烤 (shāokǎo), barbecue.