烧 (shāo) — to burn; to cook / heat / boil (food or liquid); (noun) fever
Definition
烧 is the general verb for 'burn' and for heating food (煮 water, cook). For 'have a fever', say 发烧 — 烧 alone as a noun only follows 发. For dry-heat cooking, 烤 (roast/broil) and 烘 (bake) are more specific.
verb
to burnto cook / heat / boil (food or liquid)
noun
fever
Examples
- 烧。Tā bú yào shāo nà xiē jiù shū.He doesn't want to burn those old books.
- 烧。Wǒ zài chú fáng shāo shuǐ pào chá.I'm boiling water in the kitchen to make tea.
- ，。Tā zhèng zài fā shāo, bù néng qù shàng xué.He is having a fever and can't go to school.
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.
This origin belongs to the traditional form 燒; 烧 is its simplified writing.
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.
Appears in
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