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燃起 (rán qǐ) — to ignite, to start burning; to kindle, to arouse (emotions, interest, conflict)

Definition

A verb-direction compound: 燃 ('burn') + 起 (the resultative 'up/out'). It marks a fire or flame catching, and figuratively an emotion or conflict flaring up — closer in register to written 引发 than to casual 点燃.

verb
to igniteto start burningto kindleto arouse (emotions, interest, conflict)

Examples

  • 燃起。
    Tā yòng dǎ huǒ jī rán qǐ le gōu huǒ.
    He lit the campfire with a lighter.
  • 燃起。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng rán qǐ le wǒ duì lì shǐ de xìng qù.
    This movie kindled my interest in history.
  • 燃起。
    Shuāng fāng de máo dùn hěn kuài rán qǐ le yì chǎng zhēng chǎo.
    The conflict between the two sides quickly sparked a quarrel.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

燃ránburn
起qǐrise

“燃” burning and “起” rising combine to express a fire starting or emotions being kindled.

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
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
然
然rán燃rán
Same sound today

燃 adds 火 (fire) to 然 to write “burn”; 然 supplied the sound, and 火 was added to make the fire meaning clear.

Open 燃 →

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
走走zǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
巳
巳sì起qǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

起 is made from 走 and 巳: 走 is the part connected with walking or running, and 巳 gives the sound.

Open 起 →
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