Definitions

zhà (verb) to explode; to burst; to blow up
zhá (verb) to deep fry

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

About

The character 炸 is structured with the semantic component 火, indicating fire, and the phonetic component 乍. Its earliest recorded meanings center on sudden, violent actions like bursting or exploding, often due to heat or pressure. Later, the character's usage expanded to describe the cooking method of frying in oil, where similar rapid reactions of heat and bubbling occur, thereby extending its semantic field to culinary contexts without altering its fundamental composition.

Example Sentences Hide

妈妈了薯条。

Māmā zhá le shǔ tiáo.

Mom fried French fries.

弹爆了。

Zhà dàn bào zhà le.

The bomb exploded.

气球开了。

Qìqiú zhà kāi le.

The balloon burst open.

他们正在鱼。

Tāmen zhèngzài zhá yú.

They are frying fish.

食品不健康。

Yóu zhá shípǐn bù jiànkāng.

Fried food is not healthy.

那个工厂被毁了。

Nàge gōngchǎng bèi zhà huǐ le.

That factory was blown up.

声吓坏了小孩。

Bàozhà shēng xià huài le xiǎo hái.

The sound of explosion scared the child.

恐怖分子试图掉大桥。

Kǒngbù fènzǐ shìtú zhà diào dà qiáo.

The terrorists attempted to blow up the bridge.