Chinese word

发火

Pronunciation

Pinyinfā huǒ

Meaning

  • verbget angry

Example

发火了，他冲着我大声说话。fā huǒ le tā chōng zhe wǒ dà shēng shuō huà

He got angry and spoke loudly to me.

Illustration for 发火 (get angry)

More examples

他常常对别人发火，所以没人想和他一起工作。tā cháng cháng duì bié rén fā huǒ suó yǐ méi rén xiǎng hé tā yì qǐ gōng zuò

He often gets angry at others, so no one wants to work with him.

Core concept

A force suddenly breaks out and becomes visible, like flames or anger in words and expressions.

Common phrases

  • 发火了fā huǒ le

    get angry

  • 对别人发火duì bié rén fā huǒ

    get angry at others

  • 老是发火lǎo shì fā huǒ

    always get angry

Similar words

生气shēng qì: Feels unhappy or angry about someone or something.
发脾气fā pí qì: Vents anger openly and impulsively, without keeping emotional control.
发怒fā nù: Expresses intense anger openly, often by raising the voice.
恼火náo huǒ: Shows irritation or anger after becoming upset by someone or something.

Definition in Chinese

口语中表示对人或事突然表现出愤怒或不满的动词，常通过言语或表情短时间内爆发。kóu yǔ zhōng biǎo shì duì rén huò shì tū rán biǎo xiàn chū fèn nù huò bù mǎn de dòng cí cháng tōng guò yán yǔ huò biǎo qíng duǎn shí jiān nèi bào fā

Word origin

发 (fā, "release") + 火 (huǒ, "fire") literally suggests fire breaking out, a picture extended to anger breaking out.

Usage tips

  • In everyday speech, the person receiving the anger often follows a short linking word equivalent to English at, so the sentence structure differs from simply saying that someone is angry.

Other meanings

  • igniteverb
  • catch fireverb

Opposites

  • 息怒xī nùcalm downverb

Word lists with this word