火海 (huǒ hǎi) — sea of fire (a large, intense fire covering a wide area)

Definition

noun
sea of fire (a large, intense fire covering a wide area)
Measure word · 片

Examples

  • 火海。
    Zhěng zuò dà lóu xiàn rù yí piàn huǒ hǎi.
    The entire building was engulfed in a sea of fire.
  • 火海。
    Xiāo fáng yuán yǒng gǎn dì chōng jìn le huǒ hǎi.
    The firefighters bravely charged into the sea of fire.
  • ,火海。
    Cóng yuǎn chù kàn, nà piàn sēn lín chéng le yí piàn huǒ hǎi.
    From afar, that forest had become a sea of fire.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

火 “fire” and 海 “sea” picture a wide area burning like a sea.

Characters in this word

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 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
每
每měi海hǎi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

海 pairs 氵 (water) with 每, which gives the sound. The 氵 side shows it is about water.

Open 海 →
Appears in

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