liǎo / liáo
verb #50,095

Meanings

  1. 1 to singe
  2. 2 to scorch (lightly, by accident)

Examples

Tā zhàn de lí lúzi tài jìn, liǎo le méimao.
He stood too close to the stove and singed his eyebrows.
Biānpào de huǒxīng bǎ tā de xiùzi liǎo le gè dòng.
A spark from the firecracker scorched a hole in his sleeve.

Tips

usage
Read for the everyday sense of accidentally singeing something with a flame, like hair, eyebrows, or clothing. It is much more colloquial than the liáo 'wildfire' reading.

Components

radical
huǒ
fire
The fire radical, picturing flames. It is the meaning core: is about open fire spreading and burning across the land.
phonetic
liáo
to burn brushwood in sacrifice (phonetic)
Supplies the sound, giving the reading liáo. It originally depicted a ritual bonfire of brushwood, so it also reinforces the burning meaning.

Stroke Order

liǎo