火

huǒ

noun HSK 4 #882

Meanings

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

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.

usage

火 has two colloquial meanings: 'angry' (他发火了, he got angry) and 'popular/trending' (这个视频很火, this video went viral). Context determines which.

culture

火 is one of the five elements (五行 wǔxíng) in Chinese philosophy: 金木水火土 (metal, wood, water, fire, earth).

火 huǒ