炙 (zhì): to broil

Meanings

1 to broil
2 to roast (over fire)
3 to scorch

Characters

炙

zhì

to roast; to broil over fire

Examples

烤炙的肉散发出诱人的香气。

Kǎo zhì de ròu sànfā chū yòurén de xiāngqì.

The roasted meat gave off a tempting aroma.

这位明星目前炙手可热，到处都是她的代言。

Zhèwèi míngxīng mùqián zhìshǒukěrè, dàochù dōu shì tā de dàiyán.

This celebrity is extremely hot right now - her endorsements are everywhere.

Tips

culture

炙手可热 - literally 'so hot it burns your hand' - originally described the burning arrogance of the powerful; in modern usage it means someone or something is extremely popular or in great demand.

Components

radical

火 huǒ

fire

Bottom fire radical, drawn as a flame with sparks rising. Together with the meat above, 炙 is the picture-perfect ideograph 'meat over fire' - to roast, to grill. Survives in 炙手可热 (so hot, wildly popular) and as the technical term for direct-flame cooking.

semantic

⺼ ròu

meat; flesh (radical form)

Top meat-flesh radical, the side-and-top form of 肉, visually identical to 月 but historically distinct. It pictures a piece of cut meat with two ribs of fat. Above the fire below, it depicts the central act of roasting - flesh held directly over flame.