炊 (chuī): to cook food
炊 (chuī) is a Chinese character meaning “to cook food.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 火 (semantic) and 欠 (phonetic). It ranks #2878 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 炊 fire. Its radical form 火 (fire) appears in many related characters such as 火 (huǒ, fire), 灯 (dēng, lamp, light), 烟 (yān, smoke).
Definitions
- to cook food
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 炊事noun | chuī shì | cooking |
| 野炊verb | yě chuī | to cook a meal over a campfire (usu. for a group of people on an outing) |
| 炊具noun | chuī jù | cooking utensils |
| 炊烟noun | chuī yān | smoke from kitchen chimneys |
| 炊事员noun | chuī shì yuán | cook |
| 巧妇难为无米之炊proverb | qiǎo fù nán wéi wú mǐ zhī chuī | The cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice (idiom) |
| 米已成炊phrase | mǐ yǐ chéng chuī | lit. the rice has already been cooked (idiom) |
| 炊器noun | chuī qì | cooking vessels (archaeology) |
| 食玉炊桂 | shí yù chuī guì | food is more precious than jade and firewood more expensive than cassia (idiom) |
| 炊爨verb | chuī cuàn | to light a fire and cook a meal |
| 炊帚noun | chuī zhou | pot-scrubbing brush, made from bamboo strips |
炊 appears in 11 compound words: 64 as the first character, 27 as the last, and 9 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 炊 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (2)
Example Sentences
蜡烛的炊苗在微风中轻轻摇曳。
là zhú de chuī miáo zài wēi fēng zhōng qīng qīng yáo 曳 .
The candle's wick swayed gently in the breeze.
这个质朴的炊事员，最终为掩护战友撤离而牺牲。
zhè gè zhì pǔ de chuī shì yuán , zuì zhōng wéi yǎn hù zhàn yǒu chè lí ér xī shēng .
This unassuming mess hall worker ultimately gave his life to cover his comrades' retreat.
经常出去露营野炊的朋友或许有购买需求。
jīng cháng chū qù lù yíng yě chuī de péng yǒu huò xǔ yǒu gòu mǎi xū qiú .
Friends who frequently go camping or have outdoor picnics may be interested in purchasing this item.
无因羽翮氛埃外，坐觉蒸炊釜甑中。
wú yīn yǔ 翮 fēn Āi wài , zuò jué zhēng chuī 釜 甑 zhōng .
Without a reason, I find myself outside the dust-filled air, yet I feel as if I were sitting inside a steaming pot or steamer.
炊烟与战火交织的抗战史诗
chuī yān yǔ zhàn huǒ jiāo zhī de kàng zhàn shǐ shī
An epic tale of the War of Resistance, where the smoke of cooking mingles with the flames of battle
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 火 (fire) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 炊 (chuī) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 炊 and 软?
How many strokes does 炊 have?
What is the radical of 炊?
What are the components of 炊?
What are common words containing 炊?
What characters sound the same as 炊 (chuī)?
Is 炊 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 炊 with real-time feedback
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