Meaning
焼 covers every way fire applies heat — burning, grilling, baking, roasting, and firing pottery. This single kanji turns up on restaurant menus, recipe cards, news about house fires, and pottery descriptions alike.
焼 has two parts. On the left is the 火 (fire) radical, here in its standard vertical form rather than the four-dot 灬 variant. On the right is 尭, a component linked to height or elevation. Together they picture flames climbing upward.
A Grade 4 school kanji, 焼 is introduced around age 9–10. Twelve strokes. It belongs to the fire family alongside 火 (fire), 炎 (flame), and 煙 (smoke). Fire runs deep in Japanese culture — yakitori stalls, ceramic kilns, summer fireworks — so 焼 appears in far more contexts than most single kanji manage.
Readings
On'yomi (音読み) — Chinese-derived readings
The on'yomi is ショウ (SHŌ). It appears in formal compound words: large-scale fires, combustion science, industrial disposal. Expect this reading in news headlines or technical writing. In casual speech it's rare.
- 全焼 (zenshō) — completely burned down (a building destroyed by fire)
- 燃焼 (nenshō) — combustion (science and engineering)
- 焼却 (shōkyaku) — incineration, disposal by burning
- 焼酎 (shōchū) — shōchū, a popular Japanese distilled spirit
Kun'yomi (訓読み) — Native Japanese readings
The kun'yomi — や.く (yaku) and や.ける (yakeru) — are what you'll hear at restaurants and in kitchens. やく is transitive: you grill something. やける is intransitive: something burns on its own. This verb pair follows a classic Japanese pattern and is worth studying as a set.
- 焼く (yaku) — to grill, to bake, to burn (transitive)
- 焼ける (yakeru) — to be grilled, to burn (intransitive)
- 日焼け (hiyake) — sunburn, suntan
- 焼き物 (yakimono) — grilled food; ceramics, pottery
Common Words & Compounds
焼 spans food, disaster reports, and traditional crafts. Here are the key compounds by category.
Food & Cooking (料理)
- 焼き肉 (yakiniku) — grilled meat, Japanese BBQ; one of the most popular dining styles in Japan
- 焼き鳥 (yakitori) — grilled chicken skewers, a classic izakaya staple
- 焼き魚 (yakizakana) — grilled fish, a standard Japanese breakfast dish
- お好み焼き (okonomiyaki) — savory Japanese pancake (lit. "grill what you like")
- 焼きそば (yakisoba) — stir-fried noodles with vegetables and sauce
- 焼き飯 (yakimeshi) — fried rice (informal)
- 丸焼き (maruyaki) — whole roast (e.g., a whole roasted chicken)
Fire & Disasters (火災)
- 全焼 (zenshō) — completely burned down
- 半焼 (hanshō) — partially burned
- 山火事で焼ける (yamakaji de yakeru) — to be burned in a wildfire
Crafts & Pottery (工芸)
- 素焼き (suyaki) — unglazed pottery, bisque firing
- 焼き物 (yakimono) — ceramics, pottery
Sunlight & Body (日光・体)
- 日焼け (hiyake) — sunburn; suntan
- 日焼け止め (hiyakedome) — sunscreen
Example Sentences
毎朝、お母さんは魚を焼いてくれます。
Mai asa, okaasan wa sakana wo yaite kuremasu.
Every morning, my mother grills fish for me.
パンが焼けるいいにおいがします。
Pan ga yakeru ii nioi ga shimasu.
There's a nice smell of bread baking.
昨日、友達と焼き肉を食べに行きました。
Kinō, tomodachi to yakiniku wo tabe ni ikimashita.
Yesterday, I went to eat yakiniku with my friends.
夏に海に行って、日焼けしてしまいました。
Natsu ni umi ni itte, hiyake shite shimaimashita.
I went to the ocean in summer and ended up getting a sunburn.
この陶器は京都で焼かれた焼き物です。
Kono tōki wa Kyōto de yakareta yakimono desu.
This ceramic piece is pottery fired in Kyoto.
火事で家が全焼してしまいました。
Kaji de ie ga zenshō shite shimaimashita.
The house was completely burned down in the fire.
お好み焼きは大阪の有名な料理です。
Okonomiyaki wa Ōsaka no yūmei na ryōri desu.
Okonomiyaki is a famous dish from Osaka.
肉を焼くとき、強火にしすぎないでください。
Niku wo yaku toki, tsuyobi ni shisuginaide kudasai.
When grilling meat, please don't make the flame too strong.
工場ではごみを焼却しています。
Kōjō de wa gomi wo shōkyaku shite imasu.
At the factory, they are incinerating the waste.
焼酎は日本の伝統的なお酒です。
Shōchū wa Nihon no dentōteki na osake desu.
Shōchū is a traditional Japanese alcoholic beverage.
Memory Tip
Left side: 火, the fire radical. Right side: 尭, height. Fire climbing upward — that's 焼. Picture a yakitori stall at a summer festival: charcoal glowing orange, smoke curling up, skewers sizzling on the grill. That image is 焼 in action — and 焼き鳥 is its name.
For Vietnamese learners: the Hán-Việt reading THIÊU (thiêu đốt, thiêu hủy) shares the same Chinese origin and meaning. That link alone should make this kanji stick.