Explore 焼 in cooking and in words for things changed by heat. Learn each reading with its word.
The idea
焼 has 12 strokes; follow the linked diagram. 焼く（やく） is transitive: パンを焼く means to bake bread. 焼ける（やける） is intransitive: パンが焼ける means the bread bakes. 焼酎（しょうちゅう） uses the on-reading.
| Word | Reading |
|---|---|
| 焼く | やく |
| 焼ける | やける |
| 焼き肉 | やきにく |
| 焼酎 | しょうちゅう |
Examples
- 毎朝パンを焼きます。I bake bread every morning.
- 夕食に魚を焼きました。I grilled fish for dinner.
- パンがきれいに焼けました。The bread has baked nicely.
- 肉が黒く焼けました。The meat burned black.
- 友達と焼き肉を食べました。I ate yakiniku with a friend.
- 父は焼酎を飲みます。My father drinks shochu.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Japanese device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
焼ける can describe a good result or burning, depending on context. Do not use を for the thing that bakes in the intransitive pattern.
Try it yourself
Write the reading of 焼く in hiragana.
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やく
焼く is やく: the person cooks something, as in パンを焼く.
Write the reading of 焼酎 in hiragana.
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しょうちゅう
焼酎 is しょうちゅう, a distilled alcoholic drink; learn the compound as a whole.
Complete with the intransitive verb: パンがきれいに＿ました。
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焼け
焼け completes 焼けました. パンが marks the bread as the thing that baked.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
Write the reading of 焼く in hiragana.
Write the reading of 焼酎 in hiragana.
Complete with the intransitive verb: パンがきれいに＿ました。
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write 焼 using the diagram. Cover the table, read 焼き肉 and 焼酎, then describe something you baked.