Definitions

kǎo (verb) to roast; to bake; to broil

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character '烤', which means to roast or bake, is a phono-semantic compound consisting of the fire radical '火' on the left, indicating its association with heat and cooking methods involving direct fire, and the component '考' on the right, which primarily provides phonetic guidance while historically bearing separate meanings related to examination or aging. Its construction explicitly ties the character to the application of dry heat in food preparation, and since its formation, '烤' has consistently referred to this specific culinary technique without significant semantic shift or broadening, maintaining a straightforward representation through its unchanged structural composition.

Example Sentences Hide

我喜欢面包。

Wǒ xǐhuān kǎo miànbāo.

I like baking bread.

了鸡肉。

Tā kǎo le jīròu.

He roasted chicken.

我们在花园里肉。

Wǒmen zài huāyuán lǐ kǎo ròu.

We are roasting meat in the garden.

箱里的蛋糕好了。

Kǎoxiāng lǐ de dàngāo kǎo hǎo le.

The cake in the oven is done baking.

夏天烧派对很有趣。

Xiàtiān shāokǎo pàiduì hěn yǒuqù.

Summer barbecue parties are very fun.

她用慢火红薯,味道更甜。

Tā yòng màn huǒ kǎo hóngshǔ, wèidào gèng tián.

She roasts sweet potatoes with slow fire, and the taste is sweeter.

如果你鱼时间太长,它会变得很干。

Rúguǒ nǐ kǎo yú shíjiān tài cháng, tā huì biàn de hěn gān.

If you roast fish for too long, it will become very dry.

经过精心制的牛排,外焦里嫩,深受食客喜爱。

Jīngguò jīngxīn kǎo zhì de niúpái, wài jiāo lǐ nèn, shēn shòu shíkè xǐ'ài.

The steak that is carefully roasted is crispy outside and tender inside, deeply loved by diners.