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上火 (shàng huǒ) — (TCM) to suffer from excessive internal heat (causing symptoms like sore throat, pimples, constipation); to get angry

Definition

上火 is a TCM term for 'excessive internal heat' (sore throat, pimples, etc.), but colloquially also means 'to get angry.' That 'angry' sense overlaps with 生气 (the everyday word) and 发火 (losing one's temper).

verb
(TCM) to suffer from excessive internal heat (causing symptoms like sore throat, pimples, constipation)to get angry

Examples

  • 上火，。
    Nǐ zuì jìn shàng huǒ le, shǎo chī diǎn là de.
    You have excessive internal heat lately; eat less spicy food.
  • ，。
    Tā yīn wèi zhè jiàn shì shàng le huǒ, gēn wǒ chǎo le yí jià.
    He got angry over this matter and had a quarrel with me.
  • 上火。
    Hē tài duō kā fēi róng yì shàng huǒ.
    Drinking too much coffee easily causes excessive internal heat.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

上shàngto get
火huǒfire

The sense of 上 as getting combines with 火 as fire to describe an overheated or angry state.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

火 is a simple drawing of a fire, with flames shown rising upward.

Open 火 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Illness & SymptomsTraditional Medicine & Philosophy

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