烤肉

• Pinyin: kǎo ròu
• Hanzi breakdown: 烤 = 火 (fire) + 考 (test/examine), phonetic component; 肉 = pictograph of a piece of meat

Meaning

Barbecued meat; grilled meat; BBQ. Meat cooked over fire or on a grill.

Refers to both the cooking method and the resulting dish. Popular in Korean BBQ restaurants and Chinese-style grilling. Can be done at home or in restaurants, often as a social activity where people grill their own meat at the table.

Examples

1. 周末我们一起去吃烤肉吧！ Let's go eat barbecue together this weekend!
2. 他在院子里支起烤架，准备烤肉。 He set up a grill in the yard, preparing to barbecue.
3. 这家店的韩式烤肉特别有名。 This restaurant's Korean BBQ is particularly famous.

Usage Guide

Context: food, social, everyday

Tone: casual

Do Say

• 今晚想吃烤肉吗？(Do you want to eat BBQ tonight?)
• 烤肉配啤酒是绝配。(BBQ with beer is a perfect match.)

Don't Say

• 我在家烤肉晚餐。(Sounds awkward — say 我在家做烤肉 or 我在家吃烤肉)

Origin & History

烤 (kǎo, roast/grill) + 肉 (ròu, meat). A straightforward compound describing grilled meat.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal