烧

• Pinyin: shāo
• Hanzi breakdown: 烧 = 火 (fire) + 尧 (high, phonetic) — fire reaching upward, to burn or cook with fire

Meaning

To burn; to cook; to roast; to have a fever. A versatile verb covering fire, cooking, and body temperature.

Multiple meanings: (1) to burn (烧火, 烧掉); (2) to cook with heat (烧菜, 红烧 — braised in soy sauce, 烧烤 — barbecue); (3) to have a fever (发烧); (4) to boil (烧水 — boil water).

Examples

1. 妈妈在厨房烧了一桌好菜。 Mum cooked a whole table of delicious dishes in the kitchen.
2. 他发烧了，体温三十九度。 He has a fever — his temperature is thirty-nine degrees.
3. 农民们在田里烧秸秆。 The farmers are burning crop stalks in the fields.

Usage Guide

Context: cooking, health, everyday

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 今天谁烧饭？(Who is cooking today?)
• 孩子发烧了，得去看医生。(The child has a fever — we need to see a doctor.)

Don't Say

• 我烧了沙拉 meaning 'I cooked a salad' (烧 implies cooking with heat — for cold dishes, use 做 or 拌)

Origin & History

Combines 火 (fire) and 尧 (phonetic component suggesting height) — fire reaching upward, hence to burn.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal