窑

窯/窰

yáo

穴 + 缶

HSK 3.0Level 7

Definitions

yáo (noun) kiln; furnace; oven

yáo (noun) cave dwelling

Etymology

An oven 穴 where pots 缶 are fired; 缶 also provides the pronunciation

About

The character 窑 combines 穴 (cave) and 缶 (earthenware vessel), depicting an oven where pottery is fired; 缶 also supplies the pronunciation. Its traditional form 窯 replaces 缶 with 䍃 , an ancient component showing a hand shaping a pot , which originally meant kiln and reinforces the idea. The character denotes a kiln or furnace for baking pottery, bricks, and tiles, and by extension refers to cave dwellings or vaulted structures dug into loess hillsides, typical of traditional architecture in northern China.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这个村子有很多窑洞。

Zhège cūnzi yǒu hěnduō yáodòng.

There are many cave dwellings in this village.

那座旧砖窑已经废弃了。

Nà zuò jiù zhuānyáo yǐjīng fèiqì le.

That old brick kiln has been abandoned.

陶瓷要在窑里高温烧制。

Táocí yào zài yáo lǐ gāowēn shāozhì.

Ceramics must be fired at high temperatures in a kiln.

中国古代的瓷器名扬海外。

Zhōngguó gǔdài de cíqì míng yáng hǎiwài.

Ancient Chinese porcelain is famous overseas.

考古学家发现了一座汉代窑址。

Kǎogǔ xuéjiā fāxiàn le yī zuò Hàndài yáozhǐ.

Archaeologists discovered a Han dynasty kiln site.

这座现代气窑的温度控制非常精准。

Zhè zuò xiàndài qìyáo de wēndù kòngzhì fēicháng jīngzhǔn.

The temperature control of this modern gas kiln is very precise.

景德镇的窑火千年不息。

Jǐngdézhèn de yáo huǒ qiān nián bù xī.

The kiln fires of Jingdezhen have burned for a thousand years without ceasing.

他把旧厂房改造成了艺术窑工作室。

Tā bǎ jiù chǎngfáng gǎizào chéngle yìshù yáo gōngzuòshì.

He converted the old factory building into an art kiln studio.

Related Characters

Component: 穴

Component: 缶

窑