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烟火气

煙火氣
yānhuǒqì
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 the warm, lively feel of ordinary daily life; the smell of cooking smoke and bustle of human activity
  2. 2 the texture of a place that feels genuinely lived-in

Examples

夜市里的烟火气让人想家。
Yèshì lǐ de yānhuǒqì ràng rén xiǎng jiā.
The lived-in buzz of the night market makes you homesick.
疫情之后,大家更珍惜烟火气。
Yìqíng zhīhòu, dàjiā gèng zhēnxī yānhuǒqì.
After the pandemic, people cherish everyday liveliness more.
这个小区很有烟火气。
Zhège xiǎoqū hěn yǒu yānhuǒqì.
This neighborhood really has a lived-in, homey feel.

Tips

culture
Literally 'smoke and fire energy'—the haze and smells of households cooking dinner at dusk. The phrase has classical roots but boomed in 2022 as Shanghai's long COVID lockdown made Chinese people painfully aware of what daily-life bustle really meant. 人间烟火气 became almost a slogan for post-lockdown longing. Named a 2022 Top 10 buzzword by 《咬文嚼字》.
usage
Opposite of sterile, lifeless, or too fancy. A restaurant, street or even a celebrity can be praised as 有烟火气 ('has the warmth of real life') or criticized as 没有烟火气.

Stroke Order

烟 yān
火 huǒ
气 qì