How to Write 汆 (cuān) — Meaning “To quick-boil; to blanch”

Imagine a person diving headfirst (入) into a pool of water (水). The action of quickly entering the water resembles how you quickly dunk food into boiling water to blanch it.

Start with the top component 入: write a left-falling stroke then a right-falling stroke. Below it, write the 水 radical: first the center vertical hook, then left and right strokes, and finally two small dots. Keep the top component narrow so the 水 below is balanced and centered.

水 (shuǐ) is just the water radical alone, with no top part. 氶 (zhěng) has the same top 入 but a different bottom (了 instead of 水). 汆 is unique with 入 above 水, meaning 'to blanch in water'.

You use 汆 when briefly boiling ingredients to remove impurities or cook them just enough, like blanching vegetables (汆烫) or quick-boiling meatballs (汆丸子). In Chinese cooking, it is a common technique for preparing hot pot ingredients or soups.

Common words containing 汆 include: 汆烫 (cuān tàng) — To blanch or scald; 汆丸子 (cuān wán zi) — Quick-boiled meatballs; 汆水 (cuān shuǐ) — To blanch or parboil.