焦がす
こがす · kogasu · JLPT N2 · verb-godan
to burn
🔥 焦 = scorch + causative がす: 焦がす = to make something scorch
Transitive partner of 焦げる (to get scorched): you burn something else, e.g. 鍋を焦がす = scorch the pan. The kanji 焦 has the fire radical 灬 at its base.
焦 — bird 隹 over fire 灬
焦 is an associative compound showing a short-tailed bird (隹) above fire (灬), depicting roasting a bird until scorched. The original sense was 'burnt' or 'charred,' which extended to 'scorched, dried out,' and metaphorically to 'anxious, worried' (as in 焦急).