燃 (rán): to burn, to ignite, to light
燃 (rán) is a Chinese character meaning “to burn.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 火 (semantic) and 然 (phonetic). It ranks #1543 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 燃 fire. Its radical form 火 (fire) appears in many related characters such as 火 (huǒ, fire), 灯 (dēng, lamp, light), 烟 (yān, smoke).
Definitions
- to burn
- to ignite
- to light
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 燃 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 燃
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 燃油noun | rán yóu | fuel oil |
| 自燃verb | zì rán | spontaneous combustion |
| 燃起 | rán qǐ | to ignite |
| 燃烧弹noun | rán shāo dàn | fire bomb |
| 引燃verb | yǐn rán | to ignite |
| 燃气noun | rán qì | fuel gas (coal gas, natural gas, methane etc) |
| 可燃adjective | kě rán | inflammable |
| 燃放verb | rán fàng | to light |
| 易燃物 | yì rán wù | flammable substance |
| 死灰复燃phrase | sǐ huī fù rán | lit. ashes burn once more (idiom) |
| 燃点verb | rán diǎn | to ignite |
| 内燃机noun | nèi rán jī | internal combustion engine |
| 可燃性noun | kě rán xìng | flammable |
| 易燃物品 | yì rán wù pǐn | flammable articles |
| 燃眉之急phrase | rán méi zhī jí | lit. the fire burns one's eyebrows (idiom) |
燃 appears in 56 compound words: 52 as the first character, 20 as the last, and 29 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 燃 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (4)
Example Sentences
篝火燃烧得很旺，大家围坐在一起取暖。
Gōuhuǒ ránshāo de hěn wàng, dàjiā wéi zuò zài yīqǐ qǔnuǎn.
The bonfire is burning brightly, and everyone sits around to keep warm.
年初八拜天公是否可燃放爆竹 胡栋强促倪可敏交代
nián chū bā bài tiān gōng shì fǒu kě rán fàng bào zhú hú dòng qiáng cù 倪 kě mǐn jiāo dài
On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, whether it is possible to set off firecrackers Hu Dong forced Ni Kemin to explain
新春走基层|网球传奇齐聚上海,精彩球技点燃新春佳节
xīn chūn zǒu jī céng wǎng qiú chuán qí qí jù shàng hǎi , jīng cǎi qiú jì diǎn rán xīn chūn jiā jié
Tennis legends gathered in Shanghai, and their wonderful skills ignited the Spring Festival
一环内禁燃!云岩区春节期间烟花爆竹禁限放区域、时间...
yī huán nèi jīn rán ! yún yán qū chūn jié qī jiān yān huā bào zhú jīn xiàn fàng qū yù , shí jiān . . .
No combustion in the first ring! During the Spring Festival in Yunyan District, fireworks and firecrackers are prohibited and restricted, and the time...
...中国年活力满格 “创新场景+券包优惠”点燃..
. . . zhōng guó nián huó lì mǎn gé chuàng xīn chǎng jǐng quàn bāo yōu huì diǎn rán . .
... The Chinese New Year is full of vigor and "innovative scenes + coupon packages and offers" to ignite ...
宁远县城管局:禁燃禁放不松懈 守护平安祥和年
nìng yuǎn xiàn chéng guǎn jú jīn rán jīn fàng bù sōng xiè shǒu hù píng ān xiáng hé nián
Ningyuan County Urban Management Bureau: Maintaining Vigilance in Fireworks and Fireworks Ban Safeguarding a Peaceful and Harmonious New Year
褐煤是一种化石燃料。
Hèméi shì yīzhǒng huàshíránliào.
Lignite is a fossil fuel.
硫磺燃烧着蓝色的火焰。
Liúhuáng ránshāo zhe lánsè de huǒyàn.
Sulfur burns with a blue flame.
这个取暖装置用柴油作为燃料。
Zhège qǔnuǎn zhuāngzhì yòng cháiyóu zuòwéi ránliào.
This heating equipment uses diesel as fuel.
煤和天然气是天然燃料。
Méi hé tiānránqì shì tiānrán ránliào.
Coal and natural gas are natural fuels.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 火 (fire) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 燃 (rán) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 燃 and 潦?
How many strokes does 燃 have?
What is the radical of 燃?
What are the components of 燃?
What are common words containing 燃?
What characters sound the same as 燃 (rán)?
Is 燃 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 燃 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.