灭 (miè) is a Chinese character meaning “to go out (of a fire or light)”. It is written from 一 (one) and 火 (fire), one above the other, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “to put out; to extinguish”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
一 + 火
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: Unicode U+706D, Unicode radical 86 (火), and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (stroke 0 forms 一; strokes 1–4 form 火)
Memory aid
A flat lid (一) clamped down on top of a fire (火): cover the flames and they go out. That is 灭.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 灭火miè huǒto put out a fire; to extinguish a fire灭 = miè
- 灭亡miè wángto perish; to be wiped out; to die out灭 = miè
- 歼灭jiān mièto annihilate; to wipe out (an enemy force)灭 = miè
Go deeper
All readings
to extinguish
to go out (of a fire or light); to put out; to extinguish; to wipe out; to destroy
火或光熄灭；使火或光熄灭。也表示消除、使不存在。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 灭火miè huǒto put out a fire; to extinguish a fire灭 = miè
- 灭亡miè wángto perish; to be wiped out; to die out灭 = miè
- 歼灭jiān mièto annihilate; to wipe out (an enemy force)灭 = miè
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 灭 mean?
灭 (miè) means to go out (of a fire or light); to put out; to extinguish; to wipe out; to destroy.
How do you pronounce 灭?
It is pronounced miè.
What parts is 灭 made of?
一 (one) and 火 (fire), one above the other. The recorded source is: Unicode U+706D, Unicode radical 86 (火), and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (stroke 0 forms 一; strokes 1–4 form 火). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 灭 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 灭?
火. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 灭?
Common ones are 灭火 and 灭亡. The reading of 灭 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.