烹调 (pēng tiáo) — to cook (formal, esp. in culinary contexts) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

烹调 (pēngtiáo) is a formal, written word for 'cooking' as a culinary technique — more literary than 做饭 (everyday 'cook a meal') and used like 烹饪, but slightly less bookish.

verb

to cook (formal, esp. in culinary contexts)

Examples

烹调，。
Tā de pēng tiáo jì shù hěn hǎo, xué guò sān nián.
His cooking skill is very good; he studied for three years.
烹调。
Zhè běn shū xiáng xì jiè shào le xī cān de pēng tiáo fāng fǎ.
This book introduces Western cooking methods in detail.
烹调，。
Yòng gǎn lǎn yóu pēng tiáo, wèi dào gèng xiāng.
Cooking with olive oil makes it more fragrant.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

烹 refers to cooking and 调 to seasoning, so together they describe preparing food.

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.

亨灬烹

Meaning part形符xíngfú

灬Written in full as火huǒfire

Sound part声符shēngfú

亨

亨hēng烹pēng

Same sound today

烹 uses 亨 to give the sound and 灬, a form of 火, to show fire used in cooking.

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 調; 调 is its simplified writing.

言周調

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

周

周zhōu調tiáo

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 調 pairs 言 (speech) with 周, which shows how it was pronounced. The simplified 调 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Cooking

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