Different ways to say "to burn"?

[Altair]

烧、燃、焚、燎、燃烧、焚烧 and

灼、 灼烧 and 烧灼

Is there much of a difference between these words? If so, could someone explain how they differ in meaning?

For instance, should you use different words to say the following?:

"The candle is burning brightly."

"Some stars shine by burning hydrogen, others by burning helium."

"There is a flame that always burns by the grave."

"It's not true that Emperor Nero [POP=拉小提琴?]fiddled[/POP] while Rome burned."

"They burn the trash to get rid of it."

"That kind of wood burns well."

"When newspaper burns it can release lead from the print into the air and harm your health."

"They burn the fields before planting the rice."

"I smell the rice burning in the kitchen."

"I burned my finger picking up the hot pan."

"You are starting to get a sunburn."

[YETIboy1230]

烧,means 'to burn' or 'get something caught fire'.it originally means 'to put fire on something'.As divided into two parts,the radical '火' represents 'fire', and the right part gives it 'sound'.This is how most Chinese characters are formed.One part meaning, the other sound.

燃,in a way similar to 烧.燃 came after 然. 然 originally means to 'grill dog'.To decipher it, you have to separate it into three parts.The upper two "犬"(dog) and “月"(meat) means 'the meat of dog",and lower part is , of course , fire.

The difference between 烧 and 燃 is the way we use it and the attribute of the subject.For example,

[人做主语]你能烧东西，你能烧酒，你能烧水，你能用一把火把这里烧光。

[物做主语]这些东西可以被点燃，我的心在燃烧。

焚,I think you can guess now what it means originally.In the old time,people had to burn down the forests to hunt animals or cultivate crops.

燎, the right part is for sound and originally means 'the torch on the ground'.

灼,well, seems it is a complicated combination with several meanings from different sources.

And others,I think I'd better leave them to you or other hanzi fanatics.

It is hard to make out complete meangings and sources of hanzi.But I think it is always helpful to get to know its original mean and how it involves, though sometimes its origin disappears in contemporary meaning.Mostly it is not that hard.

Furthermore,it is easier to get a better and more accurate understanding of hanzi when you put hanzi in the sentences and different situations.

Well,enjoy your journey of hanzi.

[Quest]

烧、燃、焚、燎、燃烧、焚烧 and

灼、 灼烧 and 烧灼

Usually, when there's fire, you use 烧。

燃: to start a fire 【点火】

焚: 焚香，焚化. a more literary version of 烧

燎: 燎原. burning a spreading fire

灼: when there's no fire -- hot water, steam, grill, chemicals...

I'd say:

--------------------------

"The candle is burning brightly."

那蜡烛点得很亮。 (烧腊烛 is ok, but I don't say 腊烛烧得很亮 since 蜡烛 doesn't burn like wood. But I wouldn't be surprised to hear that.)

"Some stars shine by burning hydrogen, others by burning helium."

燃烧 (when burning gas etc.. or when the fire is burning strong and lasting)

"There is a flame that always burns by the grave."

燃烧/点燃着

"It's not true that Emperor Nero fiddled while Rome burned."

当罗马被淹没在火焰中

"They burn the trash to get rid of it."

烧垃圾

"That kind of wood burns well."

烧木

"When newspaper burns it can release lead from the print into the air and harm your health."

烧报纸

"They burn the fields before planting the rice."

烧地 (燎 is literary)

"I smell the rice burning in the kitchen."

烧焦，煮焦

"I burned my finger picking up the hot pan."

烫伤

"You are starting to get a sunburn."

晒焦，晒坏，晒黑，晒伤

[imron]

and don't forget: to burn a CD/DVD - 刻盘

Although in Chinese it doesn't literally mean burn.

[YETIboy1230]

and don't forget: to burn a CD/DVD - 刻盘

Well,We usually call 'burn a CD/DVD' 烧录 ,maybe influenced by English phrase.

[imron]

We usually call 'burn a CD/DVD' 烧录

I guess there must be some variations then for different regions, because every time someone has asked me to do this, they have always used 刻盘 i.e. 刻录光盘.

In addition, the button for burning disks using OSX's disk tool says "刻录"

[SChinFChin]

In some of the classical texts, 焚 was used, to describe burning, such as in the "San zi jing", describing the demise of the "Ming Dynasty"

權奄肆 The enuchs ruled

寇如林 Bandits thrived like forests

李闖叛 Li Chuang revolted

神器焚 Divine antiquities "torched"

Beijing was sacked and torched at the time, which can also describe Rome while Nero fiddled.

[Altair]

Thanks everyone for your help. Things are much clearer now. I was especially wondering about 焚, since I had run across it in so many compounds, e.g., 焚毁 vs. 烧毁, 焚香 vs. 烧香, and 焚化 vs. 烧化. It would make sense that it is more literary.

By the way, while we are on the subject of "burning things," can anyone explain this 成语?:

焚顶烧指

Wenlin software gives the meaning "become a monk/nun," but I cannot figure out why it would mean that.

[cdn_in_bj]

I guess there must be some variations then for different regions, because every time someone has asked me to do this, they have always used 刻盘 i.e. 刻录光盘.

This is what everyone here uses too.

[SChinFChin]

By the way, while we are on the subject of "burning things," can anyone explain this 成语?:

焚顶烧指

Wenlin software gives the meaning "become a monk/nun," but I cannot figure out why it would mean that.

Refer to:

http://www.zdic.net/cd/ci/12/ZdicE7Zdic84Zdic9A164635.htm

I recall in the ordination ceremony for Buddhist monks, several spots are "burnt onto" their heads after it's shaved bald, which is where explanation in the above link: "佛教徒焚灼头顶 表示虔诚奉佛" comes in.

And I recall in the opening scenes of the TV series "Kung Fu", where the novice monks placed their hands and arms onto a burning hot bronze vase. That may explain the 烧指 part of the expression. Refer to this link for an explanation of this:

http://www.zdic.net/cd/ci/10/ZdicE7Zdic83ZdicA7166208.htm

The phrase most likely refers to the ordination process for Buddhist monks and nuns, burning of heads "焚顶" and fingers "烧指".