How to Write 烙 (lào/luò) — Meaning “to brand; to iron; to pan-fry”

Imagine a hot iron (火) pressing down on each (各) corner of a shirt to remove wrinkles. The fire radical reminds you heat is involved, while 各 helps you recall the action of pressing each spot. This mental picture links directly to the meanings 'to iron' and 'to brand.'

Pay attention to the left side: the radical 火 changes its last stroke into a dot when written as a component. The right side 各 has a '夂' (winter) top part with three strokes, not four—common mistakes include adding an extra stroke or misaligning the bottom '口' box. Keep the left and right balanced, with the 火 slightly narrower.

炅 (jiǒng) means 'bright' or 'firelight' and uses 日 (sun) under fire, while 炆 (wén) means 'to stew slowly' and adds 文 (culture) for phonetic value. In contrast, 烙 always involves heat applied to a surface, such as pan-frying or branding. Visually, 烙 has 各 on the right, whereas 炅 has 日 and 炆 has 文.

烙 appears in everyday cooking terms like 烙饼 (pan-fried pancake) and in the concept of 烙印 (brand mark or lasting impression). It is also found in historical terms like 炮烙 (an ancient hot-pillar torture). In speech, people might say '留下烙印' (leave a deep mark) to describe a strong emotional impact.

Common words containing 烙 include: 烙饼 (lào bǐng) — pan-fried pancake; 烙印 (lào yìn) — brand; stigma; to brand; 炮烙 (páo luò) — An ancient torture involving a hot pillar..