烧火 (shāo huǒ) — to light a fire; to make a fire; to tend a fire

Definition

A verb-object phrase meaning to light, build, or tend a fire — usually for cooking or heating. The verb 烧 (burn) is separable here: 烧火 / 烧一堆火 / 火还没烧完.

verb
to light a fireto make a fireto tend a fire

Examples

  • 烧火。
    Tā zài chú fáng shāo huǒ zuò fàn.
    He is lighting a fire in the kitchen to cook.
  • 。
    Tā shāo le yì duī huǒ qǔ nuǎn.
    He burned a pile of firewood to keep warm.
  • 烧火。
    shāo huǒ De shí hou yí dìng yào zhù yì ān quán.
    Be sure to pay attention to safety when tending the fire.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

烧shāoburn/heat
火huǒfire

烧 means burn or heat, and 火 means fire; together tend a fire.

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 →

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 →

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