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战火 (zhàn huǒ) — (figurative) flames of war; war (emphasizing destruction and chaos); scene or condition of active warfare

Definition

A literary noun for 'flames of war' — the chaos and destruction of active warfare, not the abstract concept of war itself (战争). Common in written prose and media to paint wartime suffering.

noun
(figurative) flames of warwar (emphasizing destruction and chaos)scene or condition of active warfare

Examples

  • 战火。
    Nà ge chéng shì zài zhàn huǒ zhōng biàn chéng le yí piàn fèi xū.
    That city was reduced to ruins in the flames of war.
  • 战火，。
    zhàn huǒ Fēn fēi de nián dài, bǎi xìng shēng huó kǔ bù kān yán.
    In the era of war-ravaged years, the common people's lives were unbearably bitter.
  • 战火。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō miáo xiě le zhàn huǒ zhōng de ài qíng gù shi.
    This novel depicts a love story amidst the flames of war.

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.

战zhànwar
火huǒfire

战 (war) and 火 (fire) picture the burning scene of active warfare.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
戈戈gē
Sound part声符shēngfú
占
占zhàn战zhàn
Same sound today

战 pairs 占, which gives its sound, with 戈, a weapon.

Open 战 →

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
Military & Defense

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