焰 meaning and stroke order
Flame, blaze; glowing, blazing
How to write 焰, stroke by stroke
12 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
Meaning of 焰
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- flame
- variant of 焰[yan4]
How 焰 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Fire.
火 gives the meaning and 臽 hints at the sound.
Radical: 火 (fire), shared by 128 characters on this site.
How to remember 焰
焰 (yàn) puts fire 火 on the left and 臽 on the right. 臽 gives the sound and 火 gives the meaning. Picture 臽 as a pit with fire leaping up out of it, sending out tall flames.
焰 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. It usually appears in words like 火焰 (huǒyàn, flame) and 烈焰 (lièyàn, raging flames). Example: 蜡烛的火焰很小。(Làzhú de huǒyàn hěn xiǎo.) The candle's flame is very small.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 焰 with 陷 (xiàn, to sink, trap), which uses the same 臽 part but has the 阝 radical on the left. Remember that fire 火 means flame and 阝 means a pit or trap.
Common words with 焰
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
焰 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 焰
How many strokes are in 焰?
焰 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 焰 mean?
焰 (yàn) means flame, blaze; glowing, blazing. A common word with it is 火焰 (huǒyàn), meaning "blaze; flame".
How do you pronounce 焰?
焰 is pronounced yàn, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 焰?
The radical of 焰 is 火, which carries the idea of "fire". Dictionaries list 焰 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 焰?
The traditional form of 焰 is 燄. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 焰 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 焰 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 焰 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 火焰 and 焰火?
火焰 (huǒyàn) means a flame, like the flame of a fire or candle. 焰火 (yànhuǒ) means fireworks, the same as 烟花 (yānhuā). The word order changes the meaning.
Does 焰 have a figurative meaning?
Yes. It can describe arrogance or a fierce attitude, as in 气焰 (qìyàn), meaning someone's arrogant air or overbearing manner. For example, 气焰嚣张 (qìyàn xiāozhāng) means extremely arrogant.