燃烧
ránshāo · HSK 4
burn
🔥 燃 (burn) + 烧 (set ablaze) — two fire characters compounded
Both 燃 and 烧 carry the 火 (fire) radical on the left. 燃 means to ignite or be aflame; 烧 means to set on fire or cook over flame. Stacking them gives the verb 'to burn / combust'.
烧 — fire radical 火 + 尧 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 火 'fire' gives the meaning 'to burn,' while 尧 (yáo) supplies the sound, shifted to shāo. The right side was simplified from 燒. Core sense 'burn' extended to cooking senses like 'roast' and 'braise.'