烫 (tàng): to scald, to burn (by scalding), to blanch (cooking)
烫 (tàng) is a Chinese character meaning “to scald.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 汤 (phonetic) and 火 (semantic). It ranks #2693 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 烫 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 scald
- to burn (by scalding)
- to blanch (cooking)
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 烫 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 烫伤noun | tàng shāng | to scald |
| 滚烫adjective | gǔn tàng | boiling hot |
| 烫发verb | tàng fà | perm (hairstyle) |
| 烫金noun | tàng jīn | (printing) to stamp with gold foil |
| 麻辣烫noun | má là tàng | malatang (a Sichuan-style spicy soup dish) |
| 死猪不怕开水烫 | sǐ zhū bù pà kāi shuǐ tàng | (lit.) a dead pig doesn't fear scalding water (saying) |
| 烫头发 | tàng tóu fa | perm |
| 发烫 | fā tàng | burning hot |
| 烫手山芋phrase | tàng shǒu shān yù | hot potato |
| 烫衣板noun | tàng yī bǎn | ironing board |
| 烫平 | tàng píng | to press (clothes) |
| 蒸汽挂烫机 | zhēng qì guà tàng jī | garment steamer |
| 火烫 | huǒ tàng | burning hot |
| 热烫 | rè tàng | to burn |
| 烫衣verb | tàng yī | to iron (clothes) |
烫 appears in 18 compound words: 50 as the first character, 44 as the last, and 6 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 烫 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
厨师用猛烫爆炒，锅里的菜肴香气四溢。
chú shī yòng měng tàng bào chǎo , guō lǐ de cài 肴 xiāng qì sì yì .
The chef stir-fried the ingredients over high heat, filling the kitchen with the aroma of the cooking dish.
大谷翔平手感火烫再敲二垒打 25日将迎今年首度实战二刀流...
dà gǔ xiáng píng shǒu gǎn huǒ tàng zài qiāo èr lěi dǎ 2 5 rì jiāng yíng jīn nián shǒu dù shí zhàn èr dāo liú . . .
Shohei Ohtani is on a hot streak, hitting another double; he will make his first "two-way" appearance of the season on the 25th...
男人下面瘙痒是什么原因引起的?热水烫洗会暂时止痒但加重病情吗
nán rén xià miàn 瘙 yǎng shì shén má yuán yīn yǐn qǐ de ? rè shuǐ tàng xǐ huì zàn shí zhǐ yǎng dàn jiā chóng bìng qíng ma
What causes itching under a man? Will hot water temporarily relieve itching but aggravate the condition?
妇科白斑怎么治疗才能彻底根除?偏方烫洗会加重皮肤损伤吗
fù kē bái bān zěn má zhì liáo cái néng chè de gēn chú ? piān fāng tàng xǐ huì jiā chóng pí fū sǔn shāng ma
How can vaginal leukoplakia be completely cured? Will using folk remedies for scalding or washing worsen skin damage?
健康网》阿诺曝曾骑车后双脚发麻、发烫 医揭横纹肌溶解症5大高危族群
jiàn kāng wǎng ā nuò pù céng qí chē hòu shuāng jiǎo fā má , fā tàng yī jiē héng wén jī róng jiě zhèng 5 dà gāo wēi zú qún
Health Network" Arnold revealed that his feet were numb and hot after cycling, and the doctor revealed the 5 high-risk groups of rhabdomyolysis
台日交流赛/刘基鸿4支4手感火烫 “用好表现帮中华队加油”
tái rì jiāo liú sài liú jī 鸿 4 zhī 4 shǒu gǎn huǒ tàng yòng hǎo biǎo xiàn bāng zhōng huá duì jiā yóu
Taiwan-Japan Exchange Match/Liu Jihong 4 4 Hot Hands, "Use Good Performance to Help the Chinese Team"
汤姆被开水烫伤了。
Tāngmǔ bèi kāishuǐ tàngshāng le.
Tom scalded himself with boiling water.
土豆太热，以至于烫到了我的嘴。
Tǔdòu tài rè, yǐzhìyú tàng dào le wǒ de zuǐ.
The potato was so hot that it burned my mouth.
这个小孩身体很烫。
Zhège xiǎohái shēntǐ hěn tàng.
The child's body felt feverish.
先熨烫领子的里面，然后是外面。
Xiān yùntàng lǐngzi de lǐmiàn, ránhòu shì wàimiàn.
Iron the inside of collars first, and then the outside.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 火 (fire) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 烫 (tàng) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 烫 have?
What is the radical of 烫?
What are the components of 烫?
What are common words containing 烫?
What characters sound the same as 烫 (tàng)?
Is 烫 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 烫 with real-time feedback
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