炎 (yán): flame, inflammation, -itis
炎 (yán) is a Chinese character meaning “flame.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 火 (structural) and 火 (structural). It ranks #1316 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 炎 two fires 火 burning. Its radical form 火 (fire) appears in many related characters such as 火 (huǒ, fire), 灯 (dēng, lamp, light), 烟 (yān, smoke).
Definitions
- flame
- inflammation
- -itis
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTwo fires 火 burning
Decomposition: ⿱火火 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 炎 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 炎
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 肺炎noun | fèi yán | pneumonia | 6 |
| 发炎verb | fā yán | to become inflamed | 6 |
| 炎热adjective | yán rè | blistering hot | 6 |
| 炎症noun | yán zhèng | inflammation | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 关节炎 | guān jié yán | arthritis |
| 肝炎 | gān yán | hepatitis |
| 脑膜炎 | nǎo mó yán | meningitis |
| 脑炎 | nǎo yán | encephalitis |
| 支气管炎 | zhī qì guǎn yán | bronchitis |
| 消炎 | xiāo yán | to reduce fever |
| 阑尾炎 | lán wěi yán | appendicitis (medicine) |
| 腮腺炎 | sāi xiàn yán | mumps |
| 喉炎 | hóu yán | laryngitis |
| 皮炎 | pí yán | dermatitis |
| 胰腺炎 | yí xiàn yán | pancreatitis |
| 炎炎 | yán yán | scorching |
| 鼻窦炎 | bí dòu yán | sinusitis |
| 阳炎 | yáng yán | dazzling sunlight |
| 心肌炎 | xīn jī yán | myocarditis |
炎 appears in 100 compound words: 12 as the first character, 79 as the last, and 9 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 炎 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (7)
people are friendly or unfriendly, depending on whether one is successful or not; the hypocrisy of the world
descendants of the Yan and Yellow Emperors; the Han Chinese people; the Chinese nation
people are friendly or unfriendly, depending on whether one is successful or not; the hypocrisy of the world
descendants of the Yan and Yellow Emperors; the Han Chinese people; the Chinese nation
Example Sentences
蜡烛的炎苗在微风中轻轻摇曳。
là zhú de yán miáo zài wēi fēng zhōng qīng qīng yáo 曳 .
The candle's flame flickered gently in the breeze.
...爆细30年小鲜肉 同剧男星暗寸“工伤”遭炎上
. . . bào xì 3 0 nián xiǎo xiān ròu tóng jù nán xīng àn cùn gōng shāng zāo yán shàng
... 30 years of small fresh meat The male star of the same drama was secretly "injured at work" and was burned
宫腔内不均质回声是什么意思?和炎症或粘连有关联吗
gōng qiāng nèi bù jūn zhì huí shēng shì shén má yì sī ? hé yán zhèng huò nián lián yǒu guān lián ma
What does intrauterine heterogeneous echo mean? Is it related to inflammation or adhesions?
健保扩大肝炎照护方案 3月起代谢性、酒精性肝炎纳保障
jiàn bǎo kuò dà gān yán zhào hù fāng àn 3 yuè qǐ dài xiè xìng , jiǔ jīng xìng gān yán nà bǎo zhàng
National Health Insurance expands hepatitis care plan to cover metabolic and alcoholic hepatitis from March
...下面窄到一根手指都疼是怎么回事?会不会是炎症刺激所致
. . . xià miàn zhǎi dào yī gēn shǒu zhǐ dōu téng shì zěn má huí shì ? huì bù huì shì yán zhèng cì jī suǒ zhì
... What's going on with the bottom so narrow that a finger hurts? Could it be caused by inflammatory stimulation?
旅游网红教“饭店咖啡机洗内裤”炎上 IG回应了
lǚ yóu wǎng hóng jiào fàn diàn kā fēi jī xǐ nèi kù yán shàng I G huí yīng le
Travel Internet celebrities teach "hotel coffee machine washing underwear" on IG responded
炎炎夏日来杯冰凉的啤酒，人生一乐也！
Yányán xiàrì lái bēi bīngliáng de píjiǔ, rénshēng yī lè yě!
There is nothing like cold beer on a hot day.
12月份巴厘岛极其炎热和潮湿。
12 yuèfèn Bālí Dǎo jíqí yánrè hé cháoshī.
It is extremely hot and humid in Bali in December.
炎热潮湿的天气使我们变得懒散。
Yánrè cháoshī de tiānqì shǐ wǒmen biànde lǎnsǎn.
Hot and humid weather makes us lazy.
我怕她可能得了腮腺炎。
Wǒ pà tā kěnéng déle sāixiànyán.
I'm afraid she may have the mumps.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 炎 (yán) mean in Chinese?
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What characters sound the same as 炎 (yán)?
Is 炎 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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