炮

砲

bāo, páo, pào

包 + 火

HSK 3.0Level 7

Definitions

pào (noun) cannon; firecracker

páo (verb) to prepare medicine by roasting

bāo (verb) to sauté; to fry

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 火 represents the meaning and 包 represents the sound.

Semantic: 火 Phonetic: 包

About

炮 is a phonosemantic compound made up of the fire radical 火 on the left and the phonetic component 包 on the right; 火 gives the meaning related to fire, and 包 suggests the sound. The character's earliest use was for a cooking method, roasting or baking food, especially meat, over a fire. With the development of gunpowder and its military application in firearms, 炮 was adopted to refer to cannons, heavy guns, and later firecrackers, all characterized by explosive fire and heat. Over time, this newer meaning has largely supplanted the original culinary sense, which is now almost entirely obsolete in modern language.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

鞭炮声音很大。

Biānpào shēngyīn hěn dà.

The sound of firecrackers is very loud.

他喜欢放鞭炮。

Tā xǐhuān fàng biānpào.

He likes to set off firecrackers.

士兵们正在装填大炮。

Shìbīngmen zhèngzài zhuāngtián dàpào.

The soldiers are loading the cannon.

炮火在远处轰鸣。

Pàohuǒ zài yuǎnchù hōngmíng.

Artillery fire is rumbling in the distance.

历史上，大炮改变了战争。

Lìshǐ shàng, dàpào gǎibiàn le zhànzhēng.

Historically, cannons changed warfare.

炮兵部队进行了演习。

Pàobīng bùduì jìnxíng le yǎnxí.

The artillery troops conducted an exercise.

他们用大炮轰开了城门。

Tāmen yòng dàpào hōngkāi le chéngmén.

They used cannons to blast open the city gate.

这种药材需要炮制后才能使用。

Zhè zhǒng yàocái xūyào páozhì hòu cái néng shǐyòng.

This kind of medicinal material needs to be processed before it can be used.

Related Characters

Component: 包

Component: 火

炮