Meaning of 烟花
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- fireworks
- prostitute (esp. in Yuan theater)
How to use 烟花
烟花 is the everyday word for fireworks, especially the colorful kind you watch at festivals like Spring Festival. The older meaning of prostitute appears in classical drama and literature, not in modern speech. Example: 春节晚上我们去看烟花。(Chūnjié wǎnshang wǒmen qù kàn yānhuā.) We went to watch fireworks on Spring Festival night.
烟 (yān) means smoke and 花 (huā) means flower. Fireworks are flowers of light that bloom in the sky and leave smoke behind.
Common mistake: Learners often write 烟 with the wrong tone, saying yán or yàn. It is first tone, yān, the same as in 抽烟 (chōuyān) and 吸烟 (xīyān). Also note that 烟 alone means smoke or cigarette, so 看烟 is not the same as 看烟花.
烟花 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.
烟 yān · cigarette or pipe tobacco · 10 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
花 huā · flower · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Related words
Words that share a character with 烟花.
| 花园 | huāyuán | garden (for flowers, ornamental plants etc); (landscaped) park; yard with decorative plant |
| 抽烟 | chōuyān | to smoke (tobacco) |
| 吸烟 | xīyān | to smoke |
| 鲜花 | xiānhuā | flower; fresh flowers |
| 开花 | kāihuā | to bloom; to blossom; to flower; (fig.) to burst; to split open |
| 桃花 | táohuā | peach blossom; (fig.) love affair |
| 花费 | huāfèi | expense; cost |
| 花生 | huāshēng | peanut |
| 花瓶 | huāpíng | flower vase; (fig.) female employee considered to be just a pretty face (attractive but no |
| 梅花 | méihuā | plum blossom; clubs ♣ (a suit in card games) |
| 香烟 | xiāngyān | smoke from incense (burned as an offering to one's ancestors); (fig.) continuation of fami |
| 棉花 | miánhuā | cotton |
Questions about 烟花
What does 烟花 mean?
烟花 (yānhuā) means "fireworks; prostitute (esp. in Yuan theater)" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 烟花?
烟花 is made of 2 characters: 烟 (10 strokes), 花 (7 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 烟花 an HSK word?
Yes. 烟花 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 烟花 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 烟花 is written 煙花.
What is the difference between 烟花 and 鞭炮?
烟花 are fireworks you watch for their colors and shapes in the sky. 鞭炮 (biānpào) are firecrackers that mainly make loud popping noises. At Chinese New Year people often use both, so you may hear 放烟花 and 放鞭炮 together.
What verb do you use with 烟花?
The most common verb is 放 (fàng), as in 放烟花 (fàng yānhuā), to set off fireworks. To watch them, use 看烟花 (kàn yānhuā).