烹 (pēng) is a Chinese character meaning “to cook”. It is written from 亨 (smooth; prosperous (hēng)) and 灬 (fire dots (bottom form of 火)), one above the other, and takes 11 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
亨 + 灬
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分 ⿱亨灬（灬 为「火」的字底变体），已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（亨 0–6，灬 7–10）
Memory aid
Set things over the fire dots (灬) and let them go smoothly (亨) — that is cooking. Both parts are really in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 烹饪pēng rèncooking; culinary art烹 = pēng
- 烹调pēng tiáoto cook (dishes); cooking烹 = pēng
Go deeper
All readings
to cook
to cook; to boil; to quick-fry and then add sauce
煮；做饭菜。也指先用热油略炒、再加调味汁的做菜方法。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 烹饪pēng rèncooking; culinary art烹 = pēng
- 烹调pēng tiáoto cook (dishes); cooking烹 = pēng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 烹 mean?
烹 (pēng) means to cook; to boil; to quick-fry and then add sauce.
How do you pronounce 烹?
It is pronounced pēng.
What parts is 烹 made of?
亨 (smooth; prosperous (hēng)) and 灬 (fire dots (bottom form of 火)), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分 ⿱亨灬（灬 为「火」的字底变体），已对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（亨 0–6，灬 7–10）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 烹 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 烹?
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 烹?
Common ones are 烹饪 and 烹调. The reading of 烹 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.