Chinese word

焦

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiāo

Meaning

  • adjectiveburned

Example

烤肉有点焦，你要不要尝？kǎo ròu yóu diǎn jiāo nǐ yào bú yào cháng

The grilled meat is a little burned. Do you want to try it?

Illustration for 焦 (burned)

More examples

纸张被烛火烧焦了，边缘变黑。zhǐ zhāng bèi zhú huǒ shāo jiāo le biān yuán biàn hēi

The paper was burned by the candle flame, and its edges turned black.

Core concept

A heat-marked surface that has moved from toasted brown toward a lightly scorched state.

Common phrases

  • 表面有点焦biǎo miàn yóu diǎn jiāo

    slightly burned on the surface

  • 被烤焦了bèi kǎo jiāo le

    burned by roasting

Similar words

烧焦shāo jiāo: Badly burned by fire or high heat until black, with a strong burnt smell and bitter taste.
焦糊jiāo hú: Blackened by partial burning and made sticky or bitter by the heat.
焦黑jiāo hēi: Having a black, charred appearance as a result of burning.

Definition in Chinese

食物或其他物体因受热而表面变色并产生烧焦味，常指局部或轻度的烧坏。shí wù huò qí tā wù tǐ yīn shòu rè ér biǎo miàn biàn sè bìng chǎn shēng shāo jiāo wèi cháng zhǐ jú bù huò qīng dù de shāo huài

Word origin

焦 (jiāo, "scorched") combines 隹 (zhuī, "short-tailed bird") with 灬 (huǒ, "fire"), and the fire component anchors the character's association with surfaces scorched by heat.

Usage tips

  • The pattern 有点 (yǒudiǎn, "a little") + this adjective gives a mild spoken judgment, while 太 (tài, "too") + this adjective marks a result that has gone too far.

Related words

Word lists with this word