烤

• Pinyin: kǎo
• Hanzi breakdown: 烤 = 火 (fire) + 考 (phonetic) — to roast with fire

Meaning

To roast; to bake; to grill; to toast.

To cook food using dry heat — in an oven, over fire, or on a grill. Very common in food vocabulary. Collocates with 烤鸭 (roast duck), 烤肉 (BBQ), 烤面包 (toast), 烧烤 (barbecue).

Examples

1. 北京烤鸭皮脆肉嫩，是来北京必吃的美食。 Beijing roast duck has crispy skin and tender meat — it's a must-eat when visiting Beijing.
2. 周末我们去郊外烤肉，边吃边聊，特别惬意。 On weekends we go to the suburbs for BBQ, eating and chatting — it's really relaxing.
3. 早上没时间做饭，就烤了两片面包配牛奶。 No time to cook in the morning, so I just toasted two slices of bread with milk.

Usage Guide

Context: cooking, food, everyday

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 今晚吃烤鱼吧。(Let's have grilled fish tonight.)
• 帮我烤一下面包。(Toast some bread for me.)

Don't Say

• 我在锅里烤了个鸡蛋。(For cooking eggs in a pan, use 煎; 烤 is for dry heat like ovens or grills)

Origin & History

Pictophonetic: 火 (fire) + 考 (phonetic). Fire-related cooking method.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal