火（huǒ) as a key Building block for Chinese Characters

13 03 2024

Of the 50 Chinese Radicals that are used in creating over 65% of Chinese common characters, today, we will learn the radicals: “火（huǒ）”. This radical means fire, light, flame, or anything connected with “fire”, ”light”, or “flame”.

In Chinese culture, there are 5 properties that are used to characterize all beings in nature. “火” is one of them. Therefore, characters or words that contain this radical have or are connected with the property. It is believed that the property helps define whether one object can assist or hinder the other. (If you play Pokémon Go, you probably are familiar with the dynamics of the creatures having different properties in the game.)

Please note that “radical” is an important concept in Chinese writing. A radical may be a word when used by itself, but it can also be used (like a building block) to construct other Chinese characters. Moreover, Chinese characters can be combined to formulate new words! Thus, learning these powerful radicals can help you learn Chinese writings effectively.