huǒ
noun HSK 3 #882

Meanings

  1. 1 fire; flame
  2. 2 anger; temper
  3. 3 popular; hot; trending

Characters

A pictograph of flames. Also a radical () in characters related to heat and cooking.

Examples

Xiǎoxīn huǒ!
Watch out for the fire!
Tā huǒ le.
He blew up. / He became famous.
Zhè shǒu gē zuìjìn hěn huǒ.
This song has been really popular recently.

Tips

usage
has two colloquial meanings: 'angry' (发火, he got angry) and 'popular/trending' (这个视频, this video went viral). Context determines which.
culture
is one of the five elements (五行) in Chinese philosophy: (metal, wood, water, fire, earth).

Components

pictograph
huǒ
fire; flame
Pictograph of rising flames — the two short top strokes are sparks flying off, the central downstroke is the main flame body, the supporting flare is heat licking sideways. Also Kangxi radical #86, indexing (lamp), (burn), (smoke), (flame). As a bottom radical it contracts to (four dots) in , , .

Stroke Order

huǒ