炒 (chǎo) is a Chinese character meaning “to stir-fry”. It is written from 火 (fire) and 少 (few; little), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to stir-fry”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
火 + 少
Left–right structure
Structure from: IDS ⿰火少，笔画核验 4+4=8（hanzi-writer-data）；《康熙字典·火部》：炒，从火少聲
Memory aid
火 (fire) on the left tells you what happens: heat in a pan. 少 on the right is not about meaning — it is here for its sound (shǎo → chǎo). Fire + the "ao" sound = tossing food in a hot wok.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 炒饭chǎo fànfried rice; to make fried rice炒 = chǎo
- 炒菜chǎo càito stir-fry dishes; a stir-fried dish炒 = chǎo
Go deeper
All readings
to stir-fry
to stir-fry; to sauté in a hot pan with a little oil, stirring constantly
把食物放进热锅里加油翻动加热的烹调方法。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 炒饭chǎo fànfried rice; to make fried rice炒 = chǎo
- 炒菜chǎo càito stir-fry dishes; a stir-fried dish炒 = chǎo
Sound component
少 family onset shift
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 炒 mean?
炒 (chǎo) means to stir-fry; to sauté in a hot pan with a little oil, stirring constantly.
How do you pronounce 炒?
It is pronounced chǎo.
What parts is 炒 made of?
火 (fire) and 少 (few; little), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS ⿰火少，笔画核验 4+4=8（hanzi-writer-data）；《康熙字典·火部》：炒，从火少聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 炒 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 炒?
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 炒?
Common ones are 炒饭 and 炒菜. The reading of 炒 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.