导火索

• Pinyin: dǎo huǒ suǒ
• Hanzi breakdown: 导 = 巳 + 寸 (lead, guide); 火 = fire; 索 = 糸 + 索 (rope, cord)

Meaning

A fuse used to ignite an explosive; figuratively, the immediate trigger or catalyst for a major event or conflict.

While literally a burning fuse, this term is predominantly used figuratively to describe the immediate event that sets off a larger conflict, crisis, or chain reaction. A key term in political analysis, historical commentary, and journalism.

Examples

1. 那次刺杀事件成为第一次世界大战爆发的导火索。 That assassination became the trigger for the outbreak of the First World War.
2. 价格欺诈丑闻成为这场消费者集体维权运动的导火索。 The price-fraud scandal became the spark for this collective consumer rights campaign.
3. 分析人士指出，此次外交风波不过是两国深层矛盾激化的导火索。 Analysts pointed out that this diplomatic incident was merely the fuse for the intensification of deeper conflicts between the two countries.

Usage Guide

Context: history, political analysis, journalism, conflict studies

Tone: analytical

Do Say

• 这场罢工只是更大规模社会运动的导火索，深层原因在于长期的经济不平等。(This strike was merely the trigger for a larger social movement; the deeper cause lay in prolonged economic inequality.)
• 找准冲突的导火索，才能从根源上化解矛盾。(Identifying the trigger of a conflict accurately is the key to resolving the underlying contradictions.)

Don't Say

• 这是个导火索事件 — 导火索 is already a noun; say 这是导火索 or 这件事成为导火索

Origin & History

导 (lead, conduct) + 火 (fire) + 索 (rope, cord) — a rope that leads fire to an explosive

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal