蒸

zhēng

烝 + 艹

HSK 3.0Level 7

Definitions

zhēng (verb) to steam (food)

zhēng (verb) to evaporate

Etymology

Steam 烝 provides the meaning and sound

About

The character 蒸 is a phono-semantic compound for steaming, combining the semantic grass radical 艹 at the top with the phonetic component 烝 below. 烝 itself contains the fire radical 灬 and originally depicted rising vapor, contributing the meaning "steam" as well as the sound. Initially, 烝 was used alone to mean steaming or vapor. The addition of 艹 likely narrowed the sense to steaming plant materials or burning hemp torches. Eventually, 蒸 superseded the simpler 烝 to become the standard character for all meanings related to steaming food, vapor, and evaporation.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我在蒸米饭。

Wǒ zài zhēng mǐfàn.

I am steaming rice.

蒸鱼很健康。

Zhēng yú hěn jiànkāng.

Steamed fish is very healthy.

早上我蒸了馒头。

Zǎoshang wǒ zhēngle mántou.

I steamed buns this morning.

蒸汽从锅里冒出来。

Zhēngqì cóng guō lǐ mào chūlái.

Steam is rising from the pot.

妈妈用蒸锅蒸包子。

Māmā yòng zhēngguō zhēng bāozi.

Mom is using a steamer to make buns.

蒸食物能保留更多营养。

Zhēng shíwù néng bǎoliú gèng duō yíngyǎng.

Steaming food can preserve more nutrients.

如果你想吃清淡的，可以蒸蔬菜。

Rúguǒ nǐ xiǎng chī qīngdàn de, kěyǐ zhēng shūcài.

If you want to eat something light, you can steam vegetables.

现代科技利用蒸汽发电。

Xiàndài kējì lìyòng zhēngqì fādiàn.

Modern technology uses steam to generate electricity.

Related Characters

Component: 烝

Component: 艹

蒸