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爆 (bào) — to explode, to burst; to quick-fry, to quick-boil

Definition

爆 covers both senses: explode/burst (e.g. a tire, glass) — more colloquial than 爆炸 — and quick-fry over high heat. 炸 is the more common verb for 'fry' or 'blow up' in most contexts.

verb
to explodeto burstto quick-fryto quick-boil
Easily confused

Examples

  • 爆。
    Lún tāi bào le.
    The tire burst.
  • 爆。
    Dà huǒ bào chǎo qīng cài.
    Quick-fry the greens over high heat.
  • 爆。
    Bō li bēi bào le.
    The glass cup burst.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

Most 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
火火huǒ
Sound part声符shēngfú
暴
暴bào爆bào
Same sound today

爆 combines 火 (fire) with 暴, which supplies the sound and also originally meant violence.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Cooking3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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