Chinese word

熬

Pronunciation

Pinyináo

Meaning

  • verbstay up late

Example

昨天我熬到两点才睡。zuó tiān wǒ áo dào liáng diǎn cái shuì

Yesterday, I stayed up until two and then went to bed.

Illustration for 熬 (stay up late)

More examples

为了赶项目，他又熬了一个通宵。wèi le gǎn xiàng mù tā yòu áo le yí gè tōng xiāo

To finish the project on time, he stayed up all night again.

Core concept

Spend a long stretch under pressure, whether a pot is on low heat or a person is holding on.

Common phrases

  • 熬夜áo yè

    stay up late

  • 熬到天明áo dào tiān míng

    stay awake until dawn

  • 熬汤áo tāng

    simmer soup

Similar words

熬夜áo yè: Spend the night staying awake instead of sleeping.
通宵tōng xiāo: Stay awake for the whole night.
开夜车kāi yè chē: Keep working or studying late at night without sleep.
熬过áo guò: Hold on through hardship until the difficult time is over.

Definition in Chinese

以慢火烹煮或长期耗费时间，也可表示忍耐或挺过困难，常用于“熬夜”指夜里熬到很晚。yǐ màn huǒ pēng zhǔ huò cháng qī hào fèi shí jiān yě kě biǎo shì rěn nài huò tǐng guò kùn nán cháng yòng yú áo yè zhǐ yè lǐ áo dào hěn wǎn

Word origin

熬 (áo, "to simmer") is built from 火 (huǒ, "fire") + 敖 (áo, "sound component"), reflecting its original cooking sense and its later sense of lasting through hardship.

Usage tips

  • English often uses separate verbs for slow cooking and getting through hardship, but this Chinese verb connects both to the idea of lasting under pressure.

Other meanings

  • endureverb
  • simmerverb

Opposites

  • 早睡zǎo shuìgo to bed earlyverb

Related words

  • 熬制áo zhìprepare by simmeringverb

Word lists with this word