爆 (bào): to explode; to burst

Meanings

1 to explode; to burst
2 to quick-fry (cooking technique)
3 to surge; to go viral (internet slang)

Characters

爆

bào

to explode; to burst

Examples

HSK 2

这条新闻在网上爆了。

Zhè tiáo xīnwén zài wǎngshàng bào le.

This news went viral online.

HSK 6

爆炒腰花是一道名菜。

Bàochǎo yāohuā shì yī dào míngcài.

Quick-fried kidney is a famous dish.

HSK 7-9

轮胎突然爆了。

Lúntāi tūrán bào le.

The tire suddenly burst.

Tips

usage

In modern internet Chinese, 爆 means something went viral or is extremely popular: 爆款 (hit product), 爆红 (suddenly famous).

memory

火 (fire) on the left + 暴 (violent) on the right = a violent fire event, i.e., an explosion.

Components

radical

火 huǒ

fire

Left fire radical - the indexing radical. Explosions involve sudden ignition and combustion, so the fire radical is the literal anchor. Common in heat/fire actions: 烧 (burn), 烤 (roast), 炸 (deep-fry/explode), 燃 (ignite). Tells the reader instantly: this is about heat-driven force.

phonetic

暴 bào

violent; sudden

Right component supplies an exact phonetic match (bào) and doubles as semantic - 暴 itself means 'violent, sudden, fierce'. The combination reads as 'violent fire' = explosion. Same phonetic in 瀑 (waterfall), 曝 (expose). A clear case of doubled semantic + phonetic where both halves push the same meaning.