蒸 zhēng steam
steam; vapor; to evaporate
How to remember 蒸: 艹 grass + 丞 pull up + 灬 fire = steam. Grandma lays the fish on lemon grass, and when she pulls up the lid over the fire, her glasses vanish in the steam.
Component breakdown
蒸 = 艹 grass + 烝
- 艹 grass
- 烝
- 丞 pull up
- 灬 fire
Grandma lays the fish on lemon grass, and when she pulls up the lid over the fire, her glasses vanish in the steam.
How it is used
- Two jobs: the cooking method 蒸 (steam over water) - 蒸馒头 (zhēng mántou) steam buns, 清蒸鱼 (qīngzhēng yú) steamed fish; and the physics sense 蒸发 (zhēngfā) to evaporate, 蒸气 (zhēngqì) vapor.
- Idiom 蒸蒸日上 (zhēngzhēng-rìshàng) means thriving/booming, of a business rising like steam.