火舌 (huǒ shé) — tongues of fire; leaping flames

Definition

Literary image noun for a 'tongue of flame' — long, pointed leaping fire, as if fire had a tongue. Used mainly in writing (volcanic eruptions, infernos, candles) rather than everyday speech.

noun
tongues of fireleaping flames
Measure word · 条

Examples

  • 火舌。
    Xióng xióng de huǒ shé cóng chuāng hu lǐ cuàn chū lái.
    Leaping flames shot out of the window.
  • ，火舌。
    Zài hēi àn zhōng, là zhú de huǒ shé qīng qīng yáo yè.
    In the darkness, the tongue of flame from the candle flickered gently.
  • ，火舌。
    Huǒ shān pēn fā shí, huǒ shé zhí chōng yún xiāo.
    When the volcano erupted, tongues of fire shot straight into the sky.

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huǒfire
舌shétongue

The flame imagery of “火” is shaped as a tongue by “舌”, giving leaping tongues of fire.

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 →

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

舌 was drawn as a snake's forked tongue rising from an open mouth.

Open 舌 →

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