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高热 (gāo rè) — high heat (in physical contexts, e.g., industrial processes, cooking); high fever (medical)

Definition

Literally 'high heat', 高热 covers both physical heat (industrial, cooking, weather) and medical high fever. The weather/meteorological sense is more literary than 炎热.

noun
high heat (in physical contexts, e.g., industrial processes, cooking)high fever (medical)

Examples

  • 高热。
    Zhè zhǒng cái liào kě yǐ chéng shòu gāo rè.
    This material can withstand high heat.
  • 高热，。
    Hái zi gāo rè bú tuì, dé mǎ shàng qù yī yuàn.
    The child's high fever won't go down; we need to go to the hospital immediately.
  • 高热。
    gāo rè Tiān qì róng yì ràng rén zhòng shǔ.
    High heat weather easily causes heatstroke.

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.

高gāohigh
热rèheat

高 and 热 combine to mean high heat or high fever.

Characters in this word

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

高 was drawn as a tall building.

Open 高 →

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 熱; 热 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
灬Written in full as火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
埶
埶yì熱rè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 熱 pairs 埶 with 火 (written as 灬) to show heat, while 埶 gives a sound.

Open 热 →
Appears in
Illness & Symptoms

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