The character 烫 — “scald”: how to write it and what it means
scald; hot
The Chinese character 烫 is read tàng and means “scald; hot”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 烫
烫 has 10 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 烫, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 烫 is made of
Below, 火 “fire”; on top, 汤 tāng “soup, boiling water” gives both meaning and reading.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 烫?
烫 has 10 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 烫 mean?
烫 means “scald; hot”.
How do you pronounce 烫?
烫 is read tàng. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 烫 have?
10 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 烫 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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