烈

liè
adjective #11,005

Meanings

  1. 1 intense; fierce; strong
  2. 2 ardent; heroic

Examples

HSK 3
Tā hē le yī bēi lièjiǔ.
He drank a glass of strong liquor.
HSK 4
Jīntiān yángguāng hěn qiángliè.
The sunlight is very intense today.

Tips

usage
烈 is found in 强烈 (intense/strong), 激烈 (fierce/heated), 热烈 (warm/enthusiastic), 烈士 (martyr), 烈酒 (hard liquor).

Components

radical
灬 huǒ
fire (radical form of 火)
Four-dots fire radical at the bottom - flame form of 火, marking heat and combustion from below. Carries the meaning of 烈: intense fire, fierce blaze, by extension intense in any sense - passionate, severe, heroic. Sits with 热 hot, 煮 boil, 焦 scorched, 烈士 (a martyr, literally 'fire-fierce gentleman'). The flames lick upward from underneath.
phonetic
列 liè
row; line
Top 列 supplies the sound directly - same liè with no shift. 列 itself depicts bones laid out in a row (歹 + 刂), giving the original sense of arranging. In 烈 the row-of-bones imagery carries a faint chill that pairs well with raging fire: a martyr's death, a fierce conflagration. Same phonetic in 例 example, 裂 split, 咧 grin.

Stroke Order

烈 liè