炬 (jù): torch

炬 (jù) is a Chinese character meaning “torch.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 火 (semantic) and 巨 (phonetic). It ranks #2912 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 炬 fire. Its radical form 火 (fire) appears in many related characters such as 火 (huǒ, fire), 灯 (dēng, lamp, light), 烟 (yān, smoke).

Spoken pronunciation

Definitions

  1. torch

Etymology & Origin

炬

pictophoneticfire

Decomposition: ⿰火巨 (layout: left-right)

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Practice writing 炬 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
火炬nounhuǒ jù(flaming) torch
付之一炬phrasefù zhī yī jùto put to the torch (idiom)
火炬手nounhuǒ jù shǒu(lit. and fig.) torchbearer
氧乙炔炬yǎng yǐ quē jùan oxyacetylene torch
氧乙炔焊炬yǎng yǐ quē hàn jùoxyacetylene torch
蜡炬nounlà jù(literary) candle
6
Total compounds
0
As first character
83
As last character
17
As middle character

炬 appears in 6 compound words: 0 as the first character, 83 as the last, and 17 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Strongest Collocations

Characters that most frequently co-occur with 炬 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

火huǒ
0.5597,625 co-occurrences
递dì
0.506392 co-occurrences
付fù
0.470770 co-occurrences
燃rán
0.441410 co-occurrences
手shǒu
0.3961,490 co-occurrences
棒bàng
0.391252 co-occurrences
熄xī
0.38926 co-occurrences
暨jì
0.38022 co-occurrences
烛zhú
0.37316 co-occurrences
宝bǎo
0.365184 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (1)

付之一炬fùzhīyījùHSK 7+

synonym of 付諸一炬 /付诸一炬 (fùzhūyījù, “to be burnt down”)

phrase

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

火炬传递奥运精神。

Huǒjù chuándì Àoyùn jīngshén.

The torch carries the Olympic spirit.

中国新闻网·文化Aug 2026

黄兴鸿 摄 当晚演出的节目《微光成炬》融合了歌、舞、花灯等元素。

huáng xīng hóng shè dāng wǎn yǎn chū de jié mù wēi guāng chéng jù róng gě le gē , wǔ , huā dēng děng yuán sù .

Photo by Huang Xinghong. The performance that evening, titled “From a Glimmer to a Torch,” blended elements of song, dance, and lanterns.

中国新闻网·体育Aug 2026

特写:骑马点火炬,内蒙古十六运上的4分30秒

tè xiě : qí mǎ diǎn huǒ jù , nèi méng gǔ shí liù yùn shàng de 4 fēn 3 0 miǎo

Feature: Lighting the Torch on Horseback—4 Minutes and 30 Seconds at the 16th Inner Mongolia Games

中国新闻网·体育Jul 2026

点火仪式上,来自广安、内江、宜宾三地的9名火炬手共同点亮主火炬。

diǎn huǒ yí shì shàng , lái zì guǎng ān , nèi jiāng , yí bīn sān dì de 9 míng huǒ jù shǒu gòng tóng diǎn liàng zhǔ huǒ jù .

At the lighting ceremony, nine torchbearers from Guang'an, Neijiang, and Yibin jointly lit the main cauldron.

IT之家Jul 2026

在点火试验中同步验证了电火花火炬式点火器在环形燃烧室中的工作表现。

zài diǎn huǒ shì yàn zhōng tóng bù yàn zhèng le diàn huǒ huā huǒ jù shì diǎn huǒ qì zài huán xíng rán shāo shì zhōng de gōng zuò biǎo xiàn .

During the ignition test, the performance of the electric spark torch-type igniter in the annular combustion chamber was simultaneously verified.

The Beijing NewsMar 2026

爱心火炬照亮生命之路 ——振国集团四十华诞暨彩丝...

ài xīn huǒ jù zhào liàng shēng mìng zhī lù — — zhèn guó jí tuán sì shí huá dàn jì cǎi sī . . .

The Torch of Love Illuminates the Path of Life — Zhen Guo Group’s 40th Anniversary and Colorful Ribbon...

Character Family

Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 火 (fire) component

Homophones — Characters pronounced jù

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 炬 (jù) mean in Chinese?
炬 (jù) primarily means "torch." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #2912 in character frequency.
What's the difference between 炬 and 柜?
炬 (jù) and 柜 (guì) are often confused. confusable. The key distinguishing feature: 火 vs 木 (same 巨 component).
How many strokes does 炬 have?
炬 is written with 8 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.
What is the radical of 炬?
The radical associated with 炬 is 火 (fire). This radical appears in many characters related to fire.
What are the components of 炬?
炬 is composed of: 火 (semantic), 巨 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰火巨 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 炬?
Common words with 炬 include: 火炬 (huǒ jù, "(flaming) torch"); 付之一炬 (fù zhī yī jù, "to put to the torch (idiom)"); 火炬手 (huǒ jù shǒu, "(lit. and fig.) torchbearer"); 氧乙炔炬 (yǎng yǐ quē jù, "an oxyacetylene torch"); 氧乙炔焊炬 (yǎng yǐ quē hàn jù, "oxyacetylene torch"). There are over 6 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 炬 (jù)?
Several characters share the pronunciation jù: 拒 (to resist), 距 (distance), 据 (according to), 具 (tool), and 4 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 炬 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 炬 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 炬 with real-time feedback

Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.

Character data sourced from Unihan (Unicode Consortium), SUBTLEX-CH frequency corpus (Cai & Brysbaert, 2010), and Make Me a Hanzi (stroke data). Collocation strength measured via NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information). Verified by the HanziFeed linguistics team.

HSK classification follows the HSK 3.0 Standard (Center for Language Education and Cooperation, CLEC, 2022 revision). Idiom data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Data last verified: March 2026.