光火

guānghuǒ

verb #30,659

Meanings

1 to be furious
2 to flare up in anger
3 to lose one's temper (colloquial)

Characters

light; to shine

Examples

听到这个消息他立刻光火了。

Tīngdào zhège xiāoxi tā lìkè guānghuǒ le.

He flared up the moment he heard the news.

你别再惹他光火。

Nǐ bié zài rě tā guānghuǒ.

Don't provoke him into losing his temper again.

Tips

usage

Colloquial — picture anger 'lighting up' like fire (光 'shine/flash' + 火 'fire'). Especially common in southern Mandarin and Wu/Cantonese-influenced speech. Standard alternatives: 发火 (fāhuǒ), 生气 (shēngqì), 发怒 (fānù).

memory

光 = light/flash + 火 = fire — anger 'flashing into flame'. The image is the same as English 'flare up'.

Stroke Order

光 guāng

火 huǒ