How to Write 熄 (xī) — Meaning “to extinguish; to go out”

Imagine a fire (火) being told to "rest" (息) — when a fire rests, it goes out. You can also picture blowing out a candle: the flame rests and extinguishes.

Write the left radical 火 first, keeping it narrow, then add the right part 息. In 息, the top is 自 (self) and the bottom is 心 (heart); a common mistake is forgetting the small dot inside 心 or making 火 too wide.

焙 (bèi) means to bake or dry over fire; its right side is 咅, not 息. 焚 (fén) means to burn and has 林 (forest) above 火. Unlike 熄 (to extinguish), 焙 uses fire for heating and 焚 means to destroy with fire.

熄 appears in everyday words like 熄灭 (to extinguish a flame), 熄灯 (to turn off lights), and 熄火 (to stall or turn off an engine). You might say "请熄灯" (please turn off the lights) before sleeping or "车熄火了" (the car stalled).

Common words containing 熄 include: 熄灭 (xī miè) — to extinguish; to put out; 熄灯 (xī dēng) — to turn off the lights; 熄火 (xī huǒ) — to flame out; to stall; to turn off the engine.