火热 (huǒ rè) — burning hot; fiery; passionate; fervent | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Spans both literal heat and figurative passion/fervor. Among siblings, 炎热 is for weather only, while 热烈 and 热情 describe enthusiasm — 火热 emphasizes intensity, like scorching heat or raging competition.

adjective

burning hotfierypassionatefervent

Examples

火热。
Jīn tiān tiān qì zhēn huǒ rè.
It's really burning hot today.
火热。
Tā duì yīn yuè yǒu huǒ rè de rè qíng.
He has passionate enthusiasm for music.
火热。
Shì chǎng shàng de jìng zhēng yuè lái yuè huǒ rè.
Competition in the market is getting increasingly fierce.

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" and "热" combine to mean hot like fire, also passionate.

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.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 熱; 热 is its simplified writing.

埶灬熱

Meaning part形符xíngfú

灬Written in full as火huǒfire

Sound part声符shēngfú

埶

埶yì熱rè

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 熱 pairs 埶 with 火 (written as 灬) to show heat, while 埶 gives a sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Emotions & Feelings

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.