How to Write 炙 (zhì) — Meaning “To roast”

Imagine a piece of meat (the top part like 月) sitting directly on a fire (the bottom part 火) — that's roasting! This picture of "meat over fire" helps you recall both the shape and meaning.

The top part (月) has 4 strokes: left-falling, horizontal fold hook, horizontal, horizontal. The bottom (火) has 4 strokes: dot, left-falling, right-falling, dot. A common mistake is making the top too wide or mixing it with 歹; keep the top narrow and centered over the fire.

炙 has 月 (meat) on top and 火 below, meaning "roast." 灯 has 火 on the left and 丁 on the right, meaning "lamp." 灰 has 火 on top and 又 below, meaning "ash." Focus on the different components below or beside the 火.

炙 is not used alone very often, but appears in common words like 炙热 (scorching hot) and 炙烤 (to grill). A famous idiom is 脍炙人口 (literally "everyone loves roasted meat"), which means a piece of writing or art is widely praised and popular.

Common words containing 炙 include: 炙热 (zhì rè) — Scorching hot; 脍炙人口 (kuài zhì rén kǒu) — to win universal praise; to be popular (of a piece of writing or art); 炙烤 (zhì kǎo) — To grill or roast.