How to Write 灶 (zào) — Meaning “stove; kitchen range”

Think of a stove as "fire on earth" — the left side 火 (fire) sits on the right side 土 (earth). Picture a clay stove with flames burning inside to cook your food.

Stroke order: first write the left radical 火 (dot, left-falling, right-falling, left-falling), then the right part 土 (horizontal, vertical, horizontal). A common mistake is making the 火 too wide; keep it narrow so the 土 fits nicely, and align the bottom of both parts.

灶 has 土 (earth) on the right, while 灭 has a horizontal stroke on top of 火 (meaning "to extinguish") and 灯 has 丁 on the right (meaning "lamp"). So 灶 is about cooking, 灭 is about stopping fire, and 灯 is about light.

灶 appears in everyday words like 灶台 (stove top) and 炉灶 (kitchen range). It is also part of 灶神 (Kitchen God), a household deity in Chinese folklore who is honored with offerings before the Lunar New Year.

Common words containing 灶 include: 灶台 (zào tái) — stove top; kitchen counter; 炉灶 (lú zào) — kitchen range; stove; 小灶 (xiǎo zào) — small stove / special treatment.