灶 (zào): kitchen stove, kitchen, mess, canteen
灶 (zào) is a Chinese character meaning “kitchen stove.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 火 (structural) and 土 (structural). It ranks #2557 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 灶 a clay 土 oven 火. Its radical form 火 (fire) appears in many related characters such as 火 (huǒ, fire), 灯 (dēng, lamp, light), 烟 (yān, smoke).
Definitions
- kitchen stove
- kitchen
- mess
- canteen
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 灶 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 病灶noun | bìng zào | (medicine) lesion |
| 炉灶noun | lú zào | stove |
| 另起炉灶phrase | lìng qǐ lú zào | lit. to set up a separate kitchen (idiom) |
| 灶台noun | zào tái | stovetop |
| 开小灶verb | kāi xiǎo zào | to give preferential treatment |
| 灶间noun | zào jiān | (dialect) kitchen |
| 小灶noun | xiǎo zào | mess hall for high-ranking cadres |
| 分灶吃饭 | fēn zào chī fàn | "meals prepared at separate stoves", slogan of the program of fiscal decentralization that began in the 1980s in the PRC |
| 吃小灶verb | chī xiǎo zào | to be given special treatment |
| 局灶性noun | jú zào xìng | (medicine) focal |
| 灶神星proper-noun | zào shén xīng | Vesta, an asteroid, second most massive object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, discovered in 1807 by H... |
| 重起炉灶 | chóng qǐ lú zào | to start over from scratch (idiom) |
| 明厨亮灶noun | míng chú liàng zào | "transparent kitchen" – a kitchen (in a restaurant, school cafeteria etc) in which food preparation processes are mad... |
| 大灶 | dà zào | large kitchen stove made from bricks or earth |
| 老虎灶noun | lǎo hǔ zào | old-style large kitchen stove |
灶 appears in 34 compound words: 38 as the first character, 56 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 灶 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (2)
Example Sentences
蜡烛的灶苗在微风中轻轻摇曳。
là zhú de zào miáo zài wēi fēng zhōng qīng qīng yáo 曳 .
The candle's flame swayed gently in the breeze.
子宫腺肌症合并腺肌瘤怎么治疗好?病灶复杂时需多学科会诊吗
zǐ gōng xiàn jī zhèng gě bìng xiàn jī liú zěn má zhì liáo hǎo ? bìng zào fù zá shí xū duō xué kē huì zhěn ma
How to treat adenomyosis with adenomyosis? Is multidisciplinary consultation necessary when the lesion is complex?
...肌症吃什么药能消掉?孕激素类药物真能让病灶萎缩吗
. . . jī zhèng chī shén má yào néng xiāo diào ? yùn jī sù lèi yào wù zhēn néng ràng bìng zào wěi suō ma
... What medicine can be taken to eliminate myopathy? Can progestin drugs really shrink lesions?
英国奥斯卡|里安纳度“甜茶”大热倒灶 英国演员爆冷封帝 《一战再战》成大赢家...
yīng guó ào sī kǎ lǐ ān nà dù tián chá dà rè dǎo zào yīng guó yǎn yuán bào lěng fēng dì yī zhàn zài zhàn chéng dà yíng jiā . . .
British Oscar|Leonardo's "sweet tea" is a hit, the British actor is upset, and "World War I and Fight Again" has become a big winner...
柴火灶里烧出的“团聚”,藏着最浓的奉贤年味丨有...
chái huǒ zào lǐ shāo chū de tuán jù , zàng zhe zuì nóng de fèng xián nián wèi 丨 yǒu . . .
The "reunion" burned in the wood stove hides the strongest Fengxian New Year's flavor丨There is...
2026贺岁图|初四:接灶迎新
2 0 2 6 hè suì tú chū sì : jiē zào yíng xīn
2026 Chinese New Year Picture|Fourth: Welcome the new year
烹饪结束后请清洁炉灶和烤箱。
Pēngrèn jiéshù hòu qǐng qīngjié lúzào hé kǎoxiāng.
Clean the stove and oven after cooking.
约翰离开了公司，另起炉灶。
Yuēhàn líkāi le gōngsī, lìngqǐlúzào.
John turned his back on the company and started on his own.
他妻子在灶旁做饭，而他在坐着读书。
Tā qīzi zài zào páng zuòfàn, ér tā zài zuò zhe dúshū.
He sat down and read while his wife was cooking by the fire.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What are the components of 灶?
What are common words containing 灶?
What characters sound the same as 灶 (zào)?
Is 灶 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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