Meaning of 火
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- fire
- urgent
- ammunition
- fiery or flaming
- internal heat (Chinese medicine)
- hot (popular)
- classifier for military units (old)
- Kangxi radical 86
- surname Huo
How to use 火
火 means fire, and in everyday speech it also means popular or trending, like a hot song or a busy restaurant. It appears in many common words such as 火车 (huǒchē, train) and 着火 (zháohuǒ, to catch fire). Example: 这家店最近很火。(Zhè jiā diàn zuìjìn hěn huǒ.) This shop has been really popular lately.
火 (huǒ) looks like a small campfire: a central flame rising in the middle with two sparks jumping out on each side. Picture flames leaping up and you have fire.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 火 with 大 (dà, big) or 头 (tóu) because of the similar spreading strokes. In 火 the two short side dots come first, and the left one slants toward the center. Also, 火车 means train, not a fire truck. A fire truck is 消防车 (xiāofángchē).
火 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
火 huǒ · fire · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 火.
| 火车 | huǒchē | train |
| 着火 | zháohuǒ | to catch fire |
| 火灾 | huǒzāi | serious fire (in a city or a forest etc) |
| 火腿 | huǒtuǐ | ham |
| 火柴 | huǒchái | match (for lighting fire) |
| 火箭 | huǒjiàn | rocket |
| 火焰 | huǒyàn | blaze; flame |
| 火山 | huǒshān | volcano |
| 发火 | fāhuǒ | to catch fire; to ignite; to lose one's temper; to blow up |
| 点火 | diǎnhuǒ | to ignite; to light a fire |
| 火花 | huǒhuā | spark; sparkle |
| 火药 | huǒyào | gunpowder |
Questions about 火
What does 火 mean?
火 (huǒ) means "fire; urgent" and is used as a noun and adjective.
How do you write 火?
火 is made of 1 character: 火 (4 strokes). That is 4 strokes in total.
Is 火 an HSK word?
Yes. 火 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 上火 mean in Chinese?
上火 (shànghuǒ) comes from the Chinese medicine idea of internal heat. People say it when they have a sore throat, mouth ulcers, or acne after eating spicy or fried food. It can also mean getting angry.
Can 火 be used to describe a person's temper?
Yes. 火 can mean anger, as in 发火 (fāhuǒ, to lose your temper) and 火气 (huǒqì, temper). For example, 他发火了 (tā fāhuǒ le) means he got angry.