TongTong
Sign in

火锅 (huǒ guō) — hotpot

Definition

火锅 is a Chinese-style hotpot where raw ingredients (meat, vegetables, seafood) are cooked at the table in a shared simmering pot of broth, eaten communally. The broth is either spicy (辣的) or mild/clear (清汤的).

noun
hotpot
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，火锅。
    Jīn tiān tài lěng le, wǒ men yì qǐ qù chī huǒ guō ba.
    It's too cold today, let's go eat hotpot together.
  • 火锅。
    Zhè jiā diàn de huǒ guō wèi dào fēi cháng bú cuò.
    The hotpot at this restaurant tastes really good.
  • 火锅，。
    Tā xǐ huan chī là de huǒ guō, wǒ gèng xǐ huan qīng tāng de.
    She likes spicy hotpot, but I prefer the mild broth kind.

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.

火huǒfire
锅guōpot

“火” suggests fire and “锅” suggests a pot, together naming a hotpot.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

火 is a simple drawing of a fire, with flames shown rising upward.

Open 火 →

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 鍋; 锅 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi鍋guō
Same sound today

In the traditional form 鍋, 金 marks metal and 咼 provides the sound; the simplified 锅 is a later shorthand.

Open 锅 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Food (General)

Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.