生火 (shēng huǒ) — to make a fire, to light a fire

Definition

生火 (shēnghuǒ) is a verb-object phrase meaning to start or build a fire, as in lighting one for cooking or warmth.

verb
to make a fireto light a fire
Easily confused

Examples

  • 生火。
    Tā men yòng huǒ chái shēng huǒ qǔ nuǎn.
    They use matches to make a fire to keep warm.
  • ，。
    Tā shēng le yí gè huǒ, rán hòu kāi shǐ zhǔ tāng.
    He made a fire and then started cooking soup.
  • ，。
    Wài miàn fēng tài dà, hěn nán shēng qǐ huǒ lái.
    The wind is strong outside; it's hard to get a fire going.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

生shēngmake
火huǒfire

生 means to make or light, and 火 means fire; together they mean to make a fire.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →

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 →

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