滚烫 (gǔn tàng) — boiling hot; scalding hot; burning hot

Definition

verb

boiling hotscalding hotburning hot

Examples

滚烫，。
Zhè bēi shuǐ gǔn tàng, bié hē.
This glass of water is scalding hot; don't drink it.
滚烫，。
Tā mō le yí xià gǔn tàng de guō, shǒu bèi tàng shāng le.
He touched the boiling-hot pot and burned his hand.
滚烫，。
Xià tiān lù miàn bèi shài dé gǔn tàng, bù néng chì jiǎo zǒu.
In summer the road surface gets scorching hot from the sun; you can't walk barefoot.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

滚gǔnboiling

烫tàngscalding

滚 (boiling) and 烫 (scalding) combine to mean extremely hot.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 滾; 滚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

袞

袞gǔn滾gǔn

Same sound today

The traditional form 滾 pairs 水 (water) with 袞, which supplies the pronunciation. The simplified 滚 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical 袞.

Open 滚 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 燙; 烫 is its simplified writing.

湯火燙

Meaning part形符xíngfú

火火huǒ

Sound part声符shēngfú

湯

湯tāng燙tàng

Same sound today

In the traditional form 燙, 火 (fire) is paired with 湯 (tāng) for the sound.

Open 烫 →