烛 (zhú): candle, (literary) to illuminate
烛 (zhú) is a Chinese character meaning “candle.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 火 (semantic) and 虫 (phonetic). It ranks #2444 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 烛 fire. Its radical form 火 (fire) appears in many related characters such as 火 (huǒ, fire), 灯 (dēng, lamp, light), 烟 (yān, smoke).
Definitions
- candle
- (literary) to illuminate
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 烛 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 蜡烛noun | là zhú | candle |
| 烛光noun | zhú guāng | candlelight |
| 烛台noun | zhú tái | candlestick |
| 洞房花烛 | dòng fáng huā zhú | bridal room and ornamented candles |
| 风烛残年phrase | fēng zhú cán nián | one's late days |
| 香烛noun | xiāng zhú | joss stick and candle |
| 花烛noun | huā zhú | wedding candles |
| 火烛noun | huǒ zhú | fire and candles |
| 风中之烛 | fēng zhōng zhī zhú | lit. candle in the wind (idiom) |
| 蜡烛不点不亮 | là zhú bù diǎn bù liàng | some people have to be pushed for them to take action |
| 洞房花烛夜phrase | dòng fáng huā zhú yè | wedding night |
| 烛光晚餐 | zhú guāng wǎn cān | candlelit dinner |
| 风中烛，瓦上霜 | fēng zhōng zhú , wǎ shàng shuāng | lit. like a candle in the wind, or frost on the roof (idiom) |
| 蜡烛两头烧 | là zhú liǎng tóu shāo | to burn the candle at both ends (idiom) |
| 圣烛节 | shèng zhú jié | Candlemas (Christian Festival on 2nd February) |
烛 appears in 22 compound words: 27 as the first character, 45 as the last, and 27 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 烛 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
Example Sentences
冬天里，一家人围坐在炉烛旁取暖聊天。
dōng tiān lǐ , yī jiā rén wéi zuò zài lú zhú páng qǔ nuǎn liáo tiān .
In winter, the family gathers around the stove and candles to keep warm and chat.
海南椰子壳香薰蜡烛礼盒|春日换新氛围感拉满
hǎi nán yē zǐ qiào xiāng 薰 là zhú lǐ hé chūn rì huàn xīn fēn wéi gǎn lā mǎn
Hainan Coconut Shell Scented Candle Gift Set | Perfect for Spring Refresh with a Cozy Atmosphere
深水埗独居妇点香烛焫着纸皮惹祝融 两人不适送院
shēn shuǐ 埗 dú jū fù diǎn xiāng zhú 焫 zhe zhǐ pí rě zhù róng liǎng rén bù shì sòng yuàn
A woman living alone in Sham Shui Po started a fire by burning incense and paper while lighting candles; two people were hospitalized after feeling unwell
祭扫场所严禁点燃香烛、燃放鞭炮等 北京发布清明文明祭扫事宜-...
jì sǎo chǎng suǒ yán jīn diǎn rán xiāng zhú , rán fàng biān pào děng běi jīng fā bù qīng míng wén míng jì sǎo shì yí . . .
Lighting incense, candles, and setting off firecrackers are strictly prohibited at memorial sites. Beijing Issues Guidelines for Civilized Qingming Memorial Activities...
快讯/基隆民宅烈焰冲天!独居男疑点蜡烛酿灾背部烧伤
kuài xùn jī lóng mín zhái liè yàn chōng tiān ! dú jū nán yí diǎn là zhú niàng zāi bèi bù shāo shāng
Breaking News: Blaze Rages at Keelung Home! Man Living Alone Suspected of Causing Fire by Lighting Candle; Suffers Burns to Back
许个愿，然后吹熄蜡烛吧。
Xǔ gè yuàn, ránhòu chuīxī làzhú ba.
Make a wish and blow out the candles.
蜡烛没有了芯，就不能算是蜡烛了。
Làzhú méiyǒu le xīn, jiù bù néng suànshì làzhú le.
A candle without a wick is no candle at all.
蜡烛出去，而不必被扑灭。
Làzhú chūqù, ér bù bì bèi pūmiè.
The candle went out instead of having been put out.
汤姆吹灭了蛋糕上的所有蜡烛。
Tāngmǔ chuī miè le dàngāo shàng de suǒyǒu làzhú.
Tom blew out all the candles on the cake.
你记得自己该买蜡烛吗？
Nǐ jìde zìjǐ gāi mǎi làzhú ma?
Did you remember that you were supposed to buy candles?
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 火 (fire) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 烛 (zhú) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 烛 and 强?
How many strokes does 烛 have?
What is the radical of 烛?
What are the components of 烛?
What are common words containing 烛?
What characters sound the same as 烛 (zhú)?
Is 烛 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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