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烟火 (yān huǒ) — fireworks; smoke and fire

Definition

Literary 'smoke and fire' (esp. in 禁止烟火 — no smoking/fires), and the everyday word for 'fireworks' (more colloquial than 烟花). Compare 烟 (smoke/cigarette) and 火焰 (active blaze).

noun
fireworkssmoke and fire
Measure word · 种

Examples

  • 烟火。
    Chūn jié wǒ men fàng yān huǒ.
    We set off fireworks during Spring Festival.
  • 烟火。
    Zhè lǐ jìn zhǐ yān huǒ.
    Smoke and fire are prohibited here.
  • 烟火。
    Zuó wǎn de yān huǒ biǎo yǎn fēi cháng jīng cǎi.
    Last night's fireworks show was spectacular.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

烟yānsmoke
火huǒfire

烟 and 火 are smoke and fire, together referring to fireworks or smoke and fire.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 煙; 烟 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 烟 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (烟) it is 煙; in others it is 菸.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
垔
垔yīn煙yān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

This story is about the traditional form 煙, not the simplified 烟. It pairs 火, fire, with 垔, which gives the sound.

Open 烟 →

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 7-9Festivals & Holidays

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