烫

燙
tàng
HSK 5
#2,897 most
frequent character
to scald, to burn, to iron, hot
verb
adjective

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

烫 joins 汤 warm or hot water, which is both a meaning part and the sound part, with 火 fire. It first meant warming something with warm water. The meaning grew to 'scald, burn', then 'perm', 'iron', and 'scalding hot'.

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Example Sentences

我不小心把手烫到了。
wǒ bùxiǎoxīn bǎshǒu tàng dàole 。
I accidentally burned my hand.
这杯水很烫，小心喝。
zhè bēi shuǐ hěn tàng ， xiǎoxīn hē 。
This cup of water is very hot, be careful when drinking.
她每天都要烫衣服。
tā měitiān dūyào tàng yīfú 。
She irons clothes every day.

Words with similar meanings

热rè
hot
A more general term for 'hot,' not necessarily indicating scalding or burning.
灼zhuó
scorch
Implying a more intense form of heat that results in burning or scalding.

Homophones

HSK 5
趟tàng
quantifier for the number of trips or runs made

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Public Lists with 烫

Cooking Methods & Tools
Stir-fry, boil, steam, wok, pot, utensils, and other kitchen vocabulary.
Daily Routines
Verbs and nouns related to waking up, chores, personal care, and daily life.
Basic Verbs
Core action verbs like 'go,' 'come,' 'eat,' 'see,' commonly encountered in HSK.
Common Adjectives
Descriptive words for size, quality, temperature, mood, and more.
HSK 5
All words for the HSK 5 test