烧化 (shāo huā) — to cremate (a corpse); to reduce to ashes, to burn up completely

Definition

烧化 means to burn something completely into ashes. It pairs naturally with the disposal marker 把 (把这些文件烧化), and covers both literal cremation and burning up objects so nothing remains.

verb
to cremate (a corpse)to reduce to ashesto burn up completely

Examples

  • ，烧化。
    Àn zhào tā de yí yuàn, yí tǐ jiāng bèi shāo huā.
    According to his last wish, the body will be cremated.
  • 烧化。
    Dà huǒ bǎ zhěng zuò sēn lín shāo huā chéng le huī jìn.
    The great fire reduced the entire forest to ashes.
  • 烧化，。
    Zhè xiē wén jiàn bì xū shāo huā chǔ lǐ, bù néng liú xià rèn hé hén jì.
    These documents must be burned to ashes, leaving no trace.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

烧shāoburn
化huàmelt/turn

烧 is burning, and 化 adds the result of melting or turning to ash, so it means cremate.

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 燒; 烧 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
堯
堯yáo燒shāo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 燒 pairs 火 (fire) with 堯, which supplies the sound; the simplified 烧 is a shorthand.

Open 烧 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

化 shows two person figures, one upright and one upside down, to give the idea of reversal or change.

Open 化 →

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