烤肉 (kǎo ròu) — (noun) barbecued/roasted meat; (v.o.) to barbec… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Used as a verb-object phrase for the activity of grilling meat, or as a noun for the meat itself. The verb-object split is rare; typically you 烤 (something) separately, e.g. 烤牛肉.

noun

barbecued/roasted meat

verb

(v.o.) to barbecue/roast meat

Measure word · 份

Examples

烤肉。
Zhè jiā kǎo ròu hěn hǎo chī.
The barbecued meat at this place is delicious.
烤肉！
Wǒ men míng tiān qù kǎo ròu ba!
Let's go barbecue tomorrow!
。
Shàng zhōu mò wǒ men kǎo le hěn duō ròu.
Last weekend we barbecued a lot of meat.

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.

烤 shows the meat is cooked by roasting, so 烤肉 means roasted or barbecued meat.

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.

火考烤

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

考

考kǎo烤kǎo

Same sound today

烤 pairs 火 (fire) with 考, which supplies the sound; the fire part is used because the meaning involves heat or roasting.

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

The original shape of 肉 showed ribs of an animal’s torso, or simply a slice of meat.

Appears in

Cooking Meat & Seafood

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