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发火

發火
fāhuǒ
verb HSK 7-9 #4,491

Meanings

  1. 1 to lose one's temper; to flare up
  2. 2 to catch fire; to ignite

Characters

发
fā
to emit; to produce
火
huǒ
fire
Literally 'to produce fire' - anger imagined as internal flames erupting.

Examples

HSK 1
你别跟我发火，这不是我的错。
Nǐ bié gēn wǒ fāhuǒ, zhè bú shì wǒ de cuò.
Don't get angry at me, it's not my fault.
HSK 3
老板今天又发火了。
Lǎobǎn jīntiān yòu fāhuǒ le.
The boss lost his temper again today.
HSK 6
发动机发火不正常。
Fādòngjī fāhuǒ bù zhèngcháng.
The engine isn't igniting properly.

Tips

usage
In Chinese, anger is conceptualized as fire - 发火 (erupt in fire), 火大 (big fire = very angry), 上火 (fire rising = irritated/getting mouth ulcers). This "anger is fire" metaphor runs deep in Chinese culture and medicine.

Stroke Order

发 fā
火 huǒ