熊熊 (xióng xióng) — (of flames) blazing, raging, roaring

Definition

Adverbial form used to describe flames burning fiercely — 'blazing, raging.' Almost always paired with 火 or 烈火.

bound form

(of flames) blazingragingroaring

熊熊，。
Dà huǒ xióng xióng, zhào liàng le zhěng gè tiān kōng.
The great fire blazed, lighting up the whole sky.
熊熊，。
Gōu huǒ xióng xióng, dà jiā wéi zhe huǒ duī chàng gē.
The campfire blazed, and everyone sang around it.
熊熊，。
Liè huǒ xióng xióng, xiāo fáng yuán fèn lì pū jiù.
The raging flames fiercely burned, and firefighters fought to extinguish them.

Single-morpheme word

构词法gòucífǎ

叠音diéyīnRepeated syllable

One syllable written twice as a single unit of meaning; neither half stands alone.

The repeated form 熊熊 names fierce flames; the characters 熊 carry no meaning of their own here.

Sound-only characters

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

炎

炎yán熊xióng

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