HSK · Level 49
120 words
Chinese word
烧毁
Pronunciation
Pinyinshāo huǐ
Meaning
- verbburn down
Example
暴徒烧毁了几家商店。bào tú shāo huǐ le jǐ jiā shāng diàn
The rioters burned down several stores.
More examples
他为了掩盖罪行，把犯罪现场的证据烧毁了。tā wèi le yǎn gài zuì xíng bǎ fàn zuì xiàn chǎng de zhèng jù shāo huǐ le
To cover up his crime, he burned up the evidence at the crime scene.
Core concept
A solid object loses its form and use because flames destroy it, sometimes reducing it to ash.
Common phrases
烧毁证据shāo huǐ zhèng jù
burn up evidence
烧毁文件shāo huǐ wén jiàn
burn up documents
烧毁房屋shāo huǐ fáng wū
burn down houses
烧毁森林shāo huǐ sēn lín
burn down forests
Similar words
焚烧fén shāo: Using fire to make something disappear, including burning it on purpose.
毁灭huǐ miè: Wiping out something completely so that it cannot exist or work again.
破坏pò huài: Breaking or damaging something so that its form or function no longer works properly.
烧掉shāo diào: Burning something up in a casual, spoken way.
Definition in Chinese
通过燃烧使物体严重受损或完全消失，侧重火造成的毁坏结果。tōng guò rán shāo shǐ wù tǐ yán zhòng shòu sǔn huò wán quán xiāo shī cè zhòng huǒ zào chéng de huǐ huài jié guǒ
Word origin
烧毁 (shāohuǐ, "burn and destroy") is a verb formed from 烧 (shāo, "burn") and 毁 (huǐ, "destroy"), joining the cause with the resulting damage.
Usage tips
- The verb is transitive, so the damaged building, vehicle, or object normally appears after it; the fire is the cause, not the usual grammatical object.