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烟花 (yān huā) — fireworks; (historical, literary) prostitute (in Yuan dynasty theater)

Definition

At HSK 7, 烟花 primarily means 'fireworks' — interchangeable with 烟火 in modern usage, but 烟花 leans toward the display/celebration sense. The literary sense 'prostitute' appears only in Yuan dynasty drama texts.

noun
fireworks(historical, literary) prostitute (in Yuan dynasty theater)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 烟花。
    Chú xī yè wǒ men yì qǐ qù fàng yān huā ba.
    Let's go set off fireworks on New Year's Eve.
  • 烟花，。
    yān huā Zài yè kōng zhōng zhàn fàng, fēi cháng měi lì.
    Fireworks bloom in the night sky, very beautiful.
  • 烟花。
    Měi nián guó qìng jié dōu yǒu dà xíng de yān huā biǎo yǎn.
    Every year on National Day there is a large fireworks show.

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.

烟yānsmoke
花huāflower

In 烟花, 烟 (smoke) tells what kind of 花 (flower) is meant: a smoke-flower, i.e. fireworks.

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 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
化
化huà花
Same sound today

花 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 化, which gives the sound.

Open 花 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Festivals & Holidays

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