蒸 (zhēng) — to steam (food); to evaporate (technical)
Definition
Covers both everyday cooking ('to steam food') and the technical sense 'to evaporate'. 蒸发 names the physical process itself; 冒 emphasizes vapor visibly rising or being given off.
verb
to steam (food)to evaporate (technical)
Examples
- 蒸。Wǒ xǐ huan chī zhēng de shū cài.I like to eat steamed vegetables.
- 蒸。Guō lǐ de shuǐ dōu zhēng gān le.The water in the pot has all evaporated.
- 蒸。Tā zhēng le yì guō bāo zi.He steamed a pot of buns.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
烝
烝zhēng蒸zhēng
Same sound today
蒸 pairs 艸 (grass) with 烝, which gives the sound.
Appears in
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