炭火 (tàn huǒ) — charcoal fire; coal fire

Definition

noun

charcoal firecoal fire

Measure word · 堆

炭火，。
Tā men yòng tàn huǒ kǎo ròu, wèi dào tè bié hǎo.
They use a charcoal fire to grill meat, and the flavor is especially good.
，炭火。
Dōng tiān de shí hou, wū zi lǐ shēng le yì pén tàn huǒ.
In winter, they lit a basin of charcoal fire in the room.
炭火，。
Zhè zhǒng tàn huǒ de wēn dù hěn gāo, shì hé kǎo yā.
This kind of charcoal fire has a very high temperature, suitable for roasting duck.

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.

炭tàncharcoal

炭 is charcoal and 火 is fire, yielding fire made by burning charcoal.

Characters in this word

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

岸

岸àn炭tàn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

炭 combines 火 (fire) with 岸, which provides the sound. The 火 part connects the character to fire or burning material.

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.