烂

làn

soft; mushy

well-cooked and soft; to rot; to decompose; rotten; worn out; chaotic; messy; utterly; thoroughly; crappy; bad

fire (火) + orchid (兰) = rotten and falling apart

火 anchors the idea of destruction by heat — things burned, overcooked, or broken down. 兰 mainly contributes the sound lán; the fire radical carries the meaning.

火+兰→烂
兰OrchidPhonetic
火FireSemantic

这个苹果放太久了,已经烂了。

zhè ge píng guǒ fàng tài jiǔ le, yǐ jīng làn le。

This apple was left out too long and has already rotted.

他觉得这部电影的故事烂得没法看。

tā jué de zhè bù diàn yǐng de gù shi làn de méi fǎ kàn。

He thinks the story of this movie is so bad it's unwatchable.

Words with 烂

烂醉

làn zuì

dead drunk

砸烂

zá làn

to smash

烂尾

làn wěi

(of a construction project etc) unfinished; derailed (due to critical setbacks)

破烂

pò làn

worn-out; dilapidated; tattered; ragged

度烂

dù làn

see 賭爛|赌烂[du3 lan4]

陈谷子烂芝麻

chén gǔ zi làn zhī ma

lit. stale grain, overcooked sesame (idiom); fig. the same boring old gossip

霉烂

méi làn

mold

三寸不烂之舌

sān cùn bù làn zhī shé

to have a silver tongue

下三烂

xià sān làn

variant of 下三濫|下三滥[xia4 san1 lan4]

朽烂

xiǔ làn

rotten

出头的椽子先烂

chū tóu de chuán zi xiān làn

lit. rafters that jut out rot first (idiom)

唬烂

hǔ làn

(slang) (Tw) to bullshit

More characters with 火

狄钬伙燎燮炏