熟

shú

孰 + 灬

HSK 3.0Level 4

Definitions

shú (adjective) thoroughly cooked; ripe

shú (adjective) familiar; acquainted with

shú (adjective) skilled; proficient

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 灬 represents the meaning and 孰 represents the sound.

Semantic: 灬 Phonetic: 孰

About

熟 is a phonosemantic compound: the bottom radical 灬, a variant of 火 (fire), indicates heat, while the component 孰 gives the sound. Its primary meaning is "cooked", referring to food prepared with heat. This sense expanded to describe crops and fruit that have grown fully ripe, and later it metaphorically described someone highly familiar, skilled, or practiced in a task or relationship.

Etymology Hide

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这个苹果已经熟了。

Zhège píngguǒ yǐjīng shú le.

This apple is already ripe.

我和他是很熟悉的朋友。

Wǒ hé tā shì hěn shúxī de péngyou.

He and I are very familiar friends.

请把鸡蛋煮熟再吃。

Qǐng bǎ jīdàn zhǔ shú zài chī.

Please boil the eggs until they're done before eating.

他对这里的环境非常熟悉。

Tā duì zhèlǐ de huánjìng fēicháng shúxī.

He is very familiar with the environment here.

他开车开得很熟练。

Tā kāichē kāi de hěn shúliàn.

He drives very skillfully.

经过锻炼，他的技术更加成熟了。

Jīngguò duànliàn, tā de jìshù gèngjiā chéngshú le.

After practice, his technique has become more mature.

这些单词你必须熟记。

Zhèxiē dāncí nǐ bìxū shújì.

You must memorize these words thoroughly.

这件事我考虑了很长时间，已经深思熟虑了。

Zhè jiàn shì wǒ kǎolǜ le hěn cháng shíjiān, yǐjīng shēnsīshúlǜ le.

I have thought about this matter for a long time and have carefully considered it.

Related Characters

Component: 孰

Component: 灬

熟