Phono-semantic compound:
火 (fire) – semantic element, indicating heat, ripening, cooking;
孰 (originally “ripe, cooked”) – phonetic element.
Originally, 孰 itself carried the meaning “ripe, cooked”, but when 孰 shifted to mean “who?”, 火 was added to preserve the older meaning of “ripen, cook.”

In compounds, 熟 often emphasizes thoroughness: not just ripeness but also complete mastery or careful thought.
성숙 (成熟) – maturity
익숙 (熟) – practiced, accustomed
숙련 (熟練) – proficiency, skill
숙고 (熟考) – careful consideration
숙달 (熟達) – mastery

Characters

Words

Vocabulary

Sino-, China

pond, marsh, swamp, moist, damp, glistening, benefit, favor, grace

wave, billow, surging water

disaster, calamity, catastrophe, fire, conflagration

fierce, intense, violent, strong, severe, vehement, ardent, passionate

to not have, none, nothing

so, thus, in that way

to simmer, to decoct, to fry

to be cooked, ripe, done, to ripen, mature, to be skilled, practiced, familiar

to contend, struggle, quarrel, to compete, vie for, to argue, dispute

to do, to act, to become, to turn into, for the sake of, on behalf of

thing, object, matter, “something, stuff” in general usage

to pull, to lead

to commit, violate, offender, criminal, to intrude, trespass, encroach

form, shape, appearance, document, written form

prison, jail, lawsuit, litigation, trial

alone, solitary, by oneself, single, unique, lonely, isolated

Explore the meaning, etymology and usage of this Chinese character. Learn its radical and how it is applied in Korean language.

Chinese character

Explore 214 Chinese radicals and their derived characters. Sort by radical or stroke count, and view the complete list of official Hanja radicals.

Chinese characters (Hanja)

Chinese characters dictionary

熟

Etymology

Usage in Korean

Characters next to each other in the list

References