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水深火热 (shuǐ shēn huǒ rè) — abyss of suffering; extreme misery; dire circumstances

Definition

A chengyu meaning people living in 'deep water, scorching fire' — an extreme state of suffering or misery, often used for war, disaster, or oppression.

idiom
abyss of sufferingextreme miserydire circumstances

Examples

  • 水深火热。
    Zhàn zhēng shǐ rén mín shēng huó zài shuǐ shēn huǒ rè zhī zhōng.
    The war made the people live in deep suffering.
  • ，水深火热。
    Zài nà duàn shí jiān, zhěng gè guó jiā dōu chǔ yú shuǐ shēn huǒ rè de jìng dì.
    During that time, the entire country was in a state of extreme misery.
  • 水深火热。
    Wǒ men yí dìng yào bāng zhù nà xiē chǔ yú shuǐ shēn huǒ rè zhōng de lǎo bǎi xìng.
    We must help the common people who are in the depths of suffering.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

水深water deep
水shuǐwater深shēndeep
主谓Subject + predicate
火热fire hot
火huǒfire热rèhot
主谓Subject + predicate

“水深” paints water as deep and “火热” paints fire as hot; together they picture unbearable conditions.

Characters in this word

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
𥥍
𥥍𥥍深shēn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

深 is built from 氵, the side form of 水 “water”, and 𥥍, which supplies the sound.

Open 深 →

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 →

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
Idioms & Set Phrases

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