失火

shīhuǒ

verb #13,548

Meanings

1 to catch fire
2 to be on fire
3 (of a building) to have a fire break out

Characters

to lose; to lose control of

Examples

那栋楼失火了，消防车马上就到。

Nà dòng lóu shīhuǒ le, xiāofángchē mǎshàng jiù dào.

That building is on fire; the fire truck will arrive soon.

仓库昨晚失火，损失严重。

Cāngkù zuówǎn shīhuǒ, sǔnshī yánzhòng.

The warehouse caught fire last night; the losses were severe.

Tips

usage

失火 emphasizes an accidental/uncontrolled fire (失 = to lose control). Compare with 着火 (zháohuǒ), which simply means 'on fire' without implying accident. 纵火 (zònghuǒ) means arson — intentionally set.

Stroke Order

失 shī

火 huǒ