烫 meaning and stroke order
To scald; to burn (by scalding); to blanch (cooking)
How to write 烫, 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 烫
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to scald
- to burn (by scalding)
- to blanch (cooking)
- to heat (sth) up in hot water
- to perm
- to iron
How 烫 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Fire.
火 gives the meaning and 汤 hints at the sound.
Radical: 火 (fire), shared by 128 characters on this site.
How to remember 烫
Put soup 汤 (tāng) on top of fire 火 (huǒ) and it gets scalding hot. The fire part gives the meaning, and 汤 gives the sound, tāng becoming tàng.
烫 (tàng) describes something hot enough to burn you, and it is also a verb for scalding, ironing clothes, perming hair, or blanching food in hot water. Example: 小心，汤很烫。(Xiǎoxīn, tāng hěn tàng.) Careful, the soup is very hot.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 烫 (tàng, fourth tone) with 汤 (tāng, first tone), since they share the same top part. Remember that 烫 has 火 underneath, and the soup itself is 汤.
Common words with 烫
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 烫伤 | tàngshāng | to scald | |
| 滚烫 | gǔntàng | boiling hot |
烫 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 烫
How many strokes are in 烫?
烫 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 烫 mean?
烫 (tàng) means to scald; to burn (by scalding); to blanch (cooking). A common word with it is 烫伤 (tàngshāng), meaning "to scald".
How do you pronounce 烫?
烫 is pronounced tàng, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 烫?
The radical of 烫 is 火, which carries the idea of "fire". Dictionaries list 烫 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 烫?
The traditional form of 烫 is 燙. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 烫 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 烫 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 烫 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 烫 and 热?
热 (rè) is the general word for hot, including the weather. 烫 (tàng) means hot enough to burn when you touch or drink it, so it is used for food, water, or objects, not for a hot day.
How do you say to perm or iron with 烫?
Say 烫头发 (tàng tóufa) for getting a perm, and 烫衣服 (tàng yīfu) for ironing clothes. An iron is 熨斗 (yùndǒu), but the action is often just 烫.