炊

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to cook food

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

火 meaning “fire” + 欠 sound ( qiàn )

Components 火欠

cook · Heisig RSH #1718

火 fire + yawn

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
巧妇难为无米之炊	qiǎo fù nán wéi wú mǐ zhī chuī	The cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice (idiom); You won't get anywhere without e…
炊事员	chuī shì yuán	cook; kitchen worker
米已成炊	mǐ yǐ chéng chuī	lit. the rice has already been cooked (idiom); fig. what is done cannot be undone
食玉炊桂	shí yù chuī guì	food is more precious than jade and firewood more expensive than cassia (idiom); the cost …
炊事	chuī shì	cooking
炊器	chuī qì	cooking vessels (archaeology)
炊烟	chuī yān	smoke from kitchen chimneys
野炊	yě chuī	to cook a meal over a campfire (usu. for a group of people on an outing); cookout
炊具	chuī jù	cooking utensils; cookware; cooker
炊帚	chuī zhou	pot-scrubbing brush, made from bamboo strips
炊爨	chuī cuàn	to light a fire and cook a meal

Characters sharing the sound component 欠 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
欠 sound part	qiàn	to lack, to owe; to breathe, to yawn
软	ruǎn	soft, pliable, flexible; weak
吹	chuī	to blow, to puff; to brag, to boast
饮	yǐn	to swallow, to drink; a kind of drink
坎	kǎn	pit, hole; to trap, to snare; crisis
钦	qīn	to respect, to admire; royal
砍	kǎn	to hack, to chop, to cut, to fell
嵌	qiàn	valley, ravine; to fall into; to inlay, to set in
芡	qiàn	Gorgon plant, fox nut
欿	kǎn	sad, gloomy, discontent
肷	qiǎn	the area between the waist and hips