How to Write 烕 (miè) — Meaning “to extinguish; to destroy”

Imagine a fire (火) being stabbed by a spear (戌) — the spear instantly kills the flames. This violent image of 'spearing the fire' helps you recall that 烕 means to extinguish or destroy.

The left side 火 must be written with the correct stroke order: dot, short slash, long slash, then the right dot. On the right, 戌 starts with a horizontal stroke, then a long slash, and the final dot inside — make sure the inner component 一 is not omitted. A common mistake is writing the right side similar to 戊 or 成, so pay attention to the shape.

烕 (miè) means to extinguish or destroy, while 炅 (jiǒng) means bright or hot, and 炆 (wén) refers to cooking over low heat. Visually, 烕 has the right side 戌, 炅 has 日 (sun) on the right, and 炆 has 文 as the right component. Their meanings are completely unrelated — 烕 is about ending something, not about brightness or gentle heating.

烕 is very rare in modern Chinese and is mostly found in classical texts or formal compounds like 烕绝 (to exterminate) and 烕火 (to extinguish a fire). It often appears as a variant of 灭 (miè), which is the standard simplified character for 'extinguish'. You may also see it in ancient poetry or historical documents, but for daily use, 灭 is far more common.

Common words containing 烕 include: 烕绝 (miè jué) — to exterminate; to become extinct; 烕火 (miè huǒ) — to extinguish a fire; 扑烕 (pū miè) — To extinguish (variant of 扑灭)..