圣火 (shèng huǒ) — (modern) sacred flame; Olympic flame; (historical, Buddhist) altar lamp before a Buddha image

Definition

Literally 'sacred fire' — in modern use it almost always means the Olympic flame. Historically, in Buddhist contexts, it refers to the oil lamp kept burning before a Buddha image.

noun
(modern) sacred flameOlympic flame(historical, Buddhist) altar lamp before a Buddha image

Examples

  • 圣火。
    Ào yùn huì de shèng huǒ cóng xī là chuán lái.
    The Olympic flame comes from Greece.
  • 圣火。
    Yùn dòng yuán diǎn rán le ào yùn shèng huǒ.
    The athletes lit the Olympic flame.
  • 圣火。
    Sì miào lǐ gòng fèng zhe shèng huǒ.
    A sacred lamp burns before the Buddha in the temple.

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.

圣shèngholy
火huǒfire

圣 means holy and 火 means fire, so the combined sense is a sacred flame.

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 聖; 圣 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
耳耳ěrear
Sound part声符shēngfú
呈
呈chéng聖shèng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 聖 puts 耳 (ear) beside 呈, which gives the sound; the simplified 圣 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 圣 →

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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