炮

• Pinyin: pào
• Hanzi breakdown: 炮 = 火 (fire) + 包 (wrap/phonetic). Fire-based weapon.

Meaning

Cannon; artillery; firecracker; gun salute.

Refers to large guns or artillery (大炮), firecrackers (鞭炮, 放炮), or metaphorically to outspoken criticism (开炮 = fire criticism). In Chinese chess, 炮 is the cannon piece. Also used in: 炮火 (gunfire), 炮弹 (shell/projectile).

Examples

1. 春节的时候，家家户户都在放鞭炮，热闹极了。 During Spring Festival, every household sets off firecrackers — it's extremely lively.
2. 博物馆里展出了几门清朝时期的古炮。 The museum displays several ancient cannons from the Qing Dynasty.
3. 会议上他第一个开炮，直接批评了部门的工作效率。 He was the first to fire criticism at the meeting, directly criticizing the department's work efficiency.

Usage Guide

Context: military, celebrations, metaphorical criticism

Tone: varies

Do Say

• 放鞭炮。(Set off firecrackers.)
• 他开炮了。(He fired criticism. — figurative)

Don't Say

• 把炮pào和炮páo混淆 (pào is cannon; páo as in 炮制 means to prepare medicine)

Origin & History

Originally 砲 with 石 (stone), referring to stone-throwing siege weapons. Later changed to 炮 with 火 (fire) for gunpowder weapons.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal