炊

chuī

欠 + 火

Definitions

chuī (verb) to cook food

Etymology

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

Semantic: 火 Phonetic: 欠

About

This phono-semantic compound combines the radical 火 (huǒ, fire) for meaning with the phonetic component 欠 (qiàn, to yawn or exhale). The structure visually depicts someone blowing on a fire to maintain it, reflecting the ancient practice of cooking over an open hearth where stoking the flames was essential. The character’s core meaning thus centers on cooking or preparing a meal, directly representing domestic culinary activity.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

厨房里有炊具。

Chúfáng lǐ yǒu chuījù.

There are cooking utensils in the kitchen.

炊烟从屋顶升起。

Chuīyān cóng wūdǐng shēngqǐ.

Smoke from cooking rises from the roof.

他负责每天的炊事。

Tā fùzé měitiān de chuīshì.

He is responsible for the daily cooking.

学会炊饭是一项基本技能。

Xuéhuì chuīfàn shì yī xiàng jīběn jìnéng.

Learning to cook rice is a basic skill.

在没有电的年代，人们用柴火炊煮。

Zài méiyǒu diàn de niándài, rénmen yòng cháihuǒ chuīzhǔ.

In the era without electricity, people used firewood to cook.

现代炊具让炊事变得更加便捷。

Xiàndài chuījù ràng chuīshì biàn dé gèngjiā biànjié.

Modern cooking utensils make cooking more convenient.

炊烟袅袅升起，预示着晚餐时间到了。

Chuīyān niǎoniǎo shēngqǐ, yùshìzhe wǎncān shíjiān dàole.

The cooking smoke curls upward, indicating that dinner time has arrived.

在野外露营时，我们需要自行炊煮食物。

Zài yěwài lùyíng shí, wǒmen xūyào zìxíng chuīzhǔ shíwù.

When camping in the wild, we need to cook food by ourselves.

Related Characters

Component: 欠

Component: 火

炊