火焰 (huǒ yàn) — flame, blaze | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

火焰 refers to the visible flame itself, especially a large or active one. 火花 is a small spark, 火炬 is a handheld torch, and 烟火 is fireworks or smoke from fire.

noun

flameblaze

Measure word · 团

Examples

火焰。
Là zhú de huǒ yàn zài hēi àn zhōng shǎn shuò.
The candle's flame flickered in the dark.
火焰。
Xiāo fáng yuán yòng shuǐ pū miè le huǒ yàn.
The firefighters put out the flames with water.
火焰。
Nà tuán huǒ yàn shāo dé hěn wàng.
That ball of flame burned fiercely.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

'火焰' pairs 火 and 焰, two close images of fire, to mean flame or blaze.

Characters in this word

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

火臽焰

Meaning part形符xíngfú

火火huǒfire

Sound part声符shēngfú

臽

臽xiàn焰

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

焰 combines 火, meaning fire, with 臽, which provides the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Physics & Chemistry 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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