煮 (zhǔ): to boil, to cook
煮 (zhǔ) is a Chinese character meaning “to boil, to cook.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 者 (phonetic) and 灬 (semantic). It ranks #2474 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 煮 fire. Its radical form 灬 (fire) appears in many related characters such as 点 (diǎn, point, o'clock), 热 (rè, hot, to heat), 然 (rán, nature, thus).
Definitions
- to boil, to cook
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 煮 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 煮饭 | zhǔ fàn | to cook |
| 煮沸 | zhǔ fèi | to boil |
| 生米煮成熟饭 | shēng mǐ zhǔ chéng shú fàn | the rice is cooked |
| 煮蛋计时器 | zhǔ dàn jì shí qì | egg timer |
| 煮熟的鸭子飞了 | zhǔ shú de yā zi fēi le | the cooked duck flew away (proverb) |
| 关东煮 | guān dōng zhǔ | oden, Japanese dish made with boiled eggs, processed fish cakes, daikon radish, tofu etc in a kelp-based broth |
| 家庭煮夫 | jiā tíng zhǔ fū | househusband |
| 水煮鱼 | shuǐ zhǔ yú | Sichuan poached sliced fish in hot chili oil |
| 煮开 | zhǔ kāi | to boil (food) |
| 煮法 | zhǔ fǎ | cooking method |
| 水煮蛋 | shuǐ zhǔ dàn | boiled egg |
| 煮熟 | zhǔ shóu | to boil thoroughly |
| 快煮壶 | kuài zhǔ hú | electric kettle (Tw) |
| 烧煮 | shāo zhǔ | to cook |
| 煮蛋 | zhǔ dàn | boiled egg |
煮 appears in 21 compound words: 52 as the first character, 19 as the last, and 29 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 煮 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
Example Sentences
煮面条的时候要在水开后放入，这样口感会更好。
Zhǔ miàntiáo de shíhou yào zài shuǐ kāi hòu fàngrù, zhèyàng kǒugǎn huì gèng hǎo.
When cooking noodles, add them after the water boils for better texture.
上传旧照 嫌犯厨余蒸煮未落实
shàng chuán jiù zhào xián fàn chú yú zhēng zhǔ wèi luò shí
Upload old photos The suspect's kitchen waste steaming has not been implemented
引爆猪瘟起诉/上传旧照 嫌犯厨余蒸煮未落实
yǐn bào zhū wēn qǐ sù shàng chuán jiù zhào xián fàn chú yú zhēng zhǔ wèi luò shí
Detonating swine fever prosecution/uploading old photos The suspect's kitchen waste cooking has not been implemented
青菜煮熟能过夜吗能吃吗?这些隔夜菜知识要牢记
qīng cài zhǔ shú néng guò yè ma néng chī ma ? zhè xiē gé yè cài zhī shí yāo láo jì
Can cooked greens be left overnight? Are they safe to eat? Keep these overnight leftovers tips in mind.
韓馬利中山大宅跟北方煮鍋貼過年 圈中老公杜燕歌係清朝皇族後裔
韓 馬 lì zhōng shān dà zhái gēn běi fāng zhǔ 鍋 貼 過 nián juān zhōng lǎo gōng dù yān gē 係 qīng cháo huáng zú 後 yì
Han Mali's Zhongshan Mansion and the North Cook Potstickers for the New Year Her husband Du Yange is a descendant of the Qing Dynasty royal family
你煮饭用瓦斯还是电？
Nǐ zhǔfàn yòng wǎsī háishi diàn?
Do you cook by gas or electricity?
你最喜欢用什么方式煮马铃薯？
Nǐ zuì xǐhuan yòng shénme fāngshì zhǔ mǎlíngshǔ?
What's your favorite way to cook potatoes?
藉由煮沸以减少黏浆状物质。
Jièyóu zhǔfèi yǐ jiǎnshǎo nián jiāng zhuàngwù zhì.
Reduce to pulp by boiling.
栗子至少要煮15分钟。
Lìzi zhìshǎo yào zhǔ shíwǔ fēnzhōng.
Boil chestnuts for at least 15 minutes.
她勉强能自己煮晚餐吃。
Tā miǎnqiǎng néng zìjǐ zhǔ wǎncān chī.
She was able to cook herself dinner, after a fashion.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 煮 (zhǔ) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 煮 and 暑?
How many strokes does 煮 have?
What is the radical of 煮?
What are the components of 煮?
What are common words containing 煮?
What characters sound the same as 煮 (zhǔ)?
Is 煮 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 煮 with real-time feedback
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