火

huǒ

HSK 4

火 — huǒ

1. fire; flame; heat produced by burning

   他们在山上生了火取暖。 tāmen zài shānshàng shēng le huǒ qǔnuǎn — They made a fire on the mountain to keep warm.

2. urgent; pressing; in a hurry

   这件事很火急，必须马上处理。 zhèjiàn shì hěn huǒjí bìxū mǎshàng chǔlǐ — This matter is very urgent and must be dealt with immediately.

3. ammunition; explosives (archaic/technical)

   守城士兵将火装入木桶，准备投向敌阵。 shǒuchéng shìbīng jiāng huǒ zhuāngrù mùtǒng zhǔnbèi tóuxiàng dízhèn — The defenders packed gunpowder into wooden barrels, ready to hurl it at the enemy lines.

4. internal heat (traditional Chinese medicine term)

   中医认为咽喉痛可能是体内有火引起的。 zhōngyī rènwéi yānhóu tòng kěnéng shì tǐnèi yǒu huǒ yǐnqǐ de — TCM considers a sore throat may be caused by internal heat.

5. hot; popular; trending (colloquial internet or spoken usage: 火了 = became popular)

   那首歌最近很火，大家都在听。 nàshǒugē zuìjìn hěn huǒ dàjiā dōu zài tīng — That song is very popular recently; everyone is listening to it.

6. classifier for military units (old usage)

   古代军制以十人为一火，由火长统领。 gǔdài jūnzhì yǐ shí rénwéi yī huǒ yóu huǒ cháng tǒnglǐng — In ancient military organization, ten soldiers formed one huǒ, led by a huǒ chief.

7. Kangxi radical number 86 (the character radical 火)

   「热」字下方的部首是火字底。 rè zì xiàfāng de bùshǒu shì huǒ zì dǐ — The radical at the bottom of the character for 'hot' is the fire radical (huo).

8. surname Huo

   火先生是一位罕见的姓氏拥有者。 huǒ xiānshēng shì yīwèi hǎnjiàn de xìngshì yōngyǒuzhě — Mr. Huo bears a rare surname.