火 huǒ — fire · English

火

huǒ

fire

At a glance · 火

Listen

Audio is synthesized in your browser: Mandarin for the character and Shuowen text, native voices for every translation. No downloads.

Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

火字甲骨文象火苗升腾之形，本义为火焰；金文、小篆承之，隶作『火』。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

火本义为火、火焰。

Structure

火为象形字，描摹火焰腾起之状。

At a glance

Pinyinhuǒ

Radical火

Strokes4

UnicodeU+706B

Character type象形

Theme自然

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English fire Huo is a pictograph of flames.

Français feu Huo est un pictogramme de flammes.

Español fuego Huo es un pictograma de llamas.

العربية نار خو رسم تخطيطي للهب.

Русский огонь Хо — пиктограмма огня.

Common words

火huǒfire
火车huǒ chētrain

◉ Listen