How to Write 炒 (chǎo) — Meaning “to stir-fry”

Imagine a small fire (火) under a wok, and you are cooking just a few (少) ingredients. The little flames and the small amount of food remind you that stir-frying is a fast, hot cooking method.

Write the left radical 火 in this order: dot, short left slash, right slash, then bottom horizontal stroke. On the right, start 少 with a vertical hook down, then two small dots. A common mistake is making the right side too wide or forgetting the hook at the bottom of the first stroke.

炒 means 'to stir-fry' and uses 火 plus 少 to show a cooking action. 灯 (dēng, lamp) combines 火 with 丁 (nail) to mean a light source that uses fire. 灰 (huī, ash) has 火 on top and 又 (hand) below, meaning the powder left after burning. The key difference is that 炒 is an action, while 灯 and 灰 are nouns.

炒 is used every day for the common cooking method of stir-frying, as in 炒菜 (to cook dishes) and 炒饭 (fried rice). In Chinese culture, stir-frying is a fundamental technique, and the character also appears in words like 炒作 (chǎo zuò), which means media hype or promotion, showing a metaphorical use of 'stirring up' attention.

Common words containing 炒 include: 炒饭 (chǎo fàn) — Fried rice; 炒菜 (chǎo cài) — to stir-fry dishes; to cook; 炒面 (chǎo miàn) — Fried noodles.