炊 (chuī) is a Chinese character meaning “to cook a meal”. It is written from 火 (fire) and 欠 (to yawn; to owe; to lack), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to cook”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
火 + 欠
Left–right structure
Structure from: IDS ⿰火欠，笔画核验 4+4=8（hanzi-writer-data）；《说文解字·火部》：炊，爨也，从火（右旁归属说文作「吹省聲」，此处不下声符结论）
Memory aid
Fire (火) on the left, and on the right a person leaning over with an open mouth (欠). Blow on the flames and the meal starts cooking.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 炊事chuī shìcooking; kitchen work炊 = chuī
- 野炊yě chuīto cook a meal outdoors; outdoor picnic cooking炊 = chuī
Go deeper
All readings
to cook
to cook a meal; to light and tend a cooking fire
烧火做饭。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 炊事chuī shìcooking; kitchen work炊 = chuī
- 野炊yě chuīto cook a meal outdoors; outdoor picnic cooking炊 = chuī
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 炊 mean?
炊 (chuī) means to cook a meal; to light and tend a cooking fire.
How do you pronounce 炊?
It is pronounced chuī.
What parts is 炊 made of?
火 (fire) and 欠 (to yawn; to owe; to lack), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS ⿰火欠，笔画核验 4+4=8（hanzi-writer-data）；《说文解字·火部》：炊，爨也，从火（右旁归属说文作「吹省聲」，此处不下声符结论）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 炊 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 炊?
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 炊?
Common ones are 炊事 and 野炊. The reading of 炊 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.