燎

liáo, liǎo

尞 + 火

Definitions

liáo to burn; to set afire

liǎo to singe

Etymology

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

Semantic: 火 Phonetic: 尞

About

燎 is a phono-semantic compound character: the radical 火 (fire) on the left indicates its meaning, while the component 尞 on the right gives the sound. It primarily reads as liáo and refers to fire, burning, and illumination, torch flames, setting fires, and especially a blaze that spreads swiftly over a large area, as in 燎原 (a prairie fire). When read as liǎo, the meaning shifts to singeing hair or eyebrows with a flame, showcasing a semantic spectrum from huge, uncontrollable fires to tiny, deliberate applications of heat.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

火星燎伤了他的皮肤。

Huǒxīng liǎoshāng le tā de pífū.

The spark burned his skin.

不要玩火，以免燎伤自己。

Bù yào wán huǒ, yǐmiǎn liǎoshāng zìjǐ.

Don't play with fire to avoid burning yourself.

草原上的火势迅速燎原。

Cǎoyuán shàng de huǒshì xùnsù liáoyuán.

The fire on the prairie spread rapidly.

火灾燎过之后，一片焦黑。

Huǒzāi liǎo guò zhīhòu, yīpiàn jiāo hēi.

After the fire swept through, everything was charred black.

由于风大，火苗燎到了附近的树木。

Yóuyú fēng dà, huǒmiáo liǎo dào le fùjìn de shùmù.

Due to the strong wind, the flames spread to nearby trees.

他点燃了枯草，火势立刻燎了起来。

Tā diǎnrán le kū cǎo, huǒshì lìkè liǎo le qǐlái.

He lit the dry grass, and the fire immediately blazed up.

尽管消防员尽力扑救，大火还是燎毁了整个仓库。

Jǐnguǎn xiāofángyuán jìnlì pūjiù, dàhuǒ háishì liǎo huǐ le zhěnggè cāngkù.

Despite the firefighters' efforts to extinguish it, the fire still burned down the entire warehouse.

在干燥的季节里，一点火星就足以燎起一场森林大火。

Zài gānzào de jìjié lǐ, yīdiǎn huǒxīng jiù zúyǐ liǎo qǐ yī chǎng sēnlín dàhuǒ.

In the dry season, a single spark is enough to ignite a forest fire.

Related Characters

Component: 尞

Component: 火

燎