辣 meaning and stroke order
Hot (spicy); pungent; (of chili pepper, raw onions etc) to sting
How to write 辣, stroke by stroke
14 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
Meaning of 辣
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- hot (spicy)
- pungent
- (of chili pepper, raw onions etc) to sting
- to burn
- old variant of 辣[la4]
How 辣 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Bitter.
辛 gives the meaning and 束 hints at the sound.
Radical: 辛 (bitter), shared by 11 characters on this site.
How to remember 辣
辣 combines 辛 (xīn), the meaning part linked to bitter, sharp tastes, with 束 (shù), a bundle, as the sound hint. Picture a tied bundle of chili peppers so sharp and bitter that it stings your mouth.
辣 describes spicy food and the burning feeling from chili or raw onion, and it also appears in words for harshness, like 心狠手辣 (xīnhěnshǒulà), vicious and merciless. A very common question in restaurants is about spice level: 这个菜辣不辣？(Zhège cài là bu là?) Is this dish spicy?
Common mistake: Learners often write the right side as 東 or 柬 instead of 束, which has only one horizontal stroke inside the 口 shape area and no extra dots. Also keep the fourth tone in là; saying lā or lǎ sounds wrong to native ears.
Common words with 辣
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 酸甜苦辣 | suān-tián-kǔ-là | (lit.) sour, sweet, bitter and spicy (idiom); (fig.) all kinds of flavors; the joys and so | HSK 5 |
| 辣椒 | làjiāo | hot pepper; chili | HSK 7-9 |
| 麻辣 | málà | hot and numbing | HSK 7-9 |
| 火辣辣 | huǒlàlà | scorching hot; (of a burn or other injury) painful; burning | HSK 7-9 |
| 辣妹 | làmèi | hot chick; sexy girl | |
| 火辣 | huǒlà | painful heat; scorching | |
| 心狠手辣 | xīnhěnshǒulà | (idiom) vicious; merciless | |
| 红辣椒 | hónglàjiāo | hot red pepper; chili | |
| 辣椒酱 | làjiāojiàng | red pepper paste; chili sauce |
辣 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 辣
How many strokes are in 辣?
辣 is written with 14 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 辣 mean?
辣 (là) means hot (spicy); pungent; (of chili pepper, raw onions etc) to sting. A common word with it is 酸甜苦辣 (suān-tián-kǔ-là), meaning "(lit.) sour, sweet, bitter and spicy (idiom); (fig.) all kinds of flavors; the joys and so".
How do you pronounce 辣?
辣 is pronounced là, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 辣?
The radical of 辣 is 辛, which carries the idea of "bitter". Dictionaries list 辣 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 辣?
The traditional form of 辣 is 辢. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 辣 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 辣 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 辣 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 3.
What is the difference between 辣 and 麻辣?
辣 (là) is the burning heat from chili. 麻辣 (málà) adds 麻, the tingling, numbing feeling from Sichuan pepper, and is typical of Sichuan and Chongqing food.
How do I say I can or cannot eat spicy food?
Say 我能吃辣 (wǒ néng chī là), I can eat spicy food, or 我不能吃辣 (wǒ bù néng chī là), I can't eat spicy food. To ask for less spice, say 少放辣 (shǎo fàng là) or 微辣 (wēi là), mildly spicy.