炎热

• Pinyin: yán rè
• Hanzi breakdown: 炎 = 火 + 火 (fire + fire — double fire, extremely hot/blazing); 热 = 𡕒 (earth mound variant) + 灬 (fire radical at bottom — earth heated from below)

Meaning

Scorching hot; sweltering; blazing hot. Describes extreme, oppressive heat — particularly summer weather or a hot environment.

Typically refers to atmospheric or weather heat rather than object temperature. 炎热的夏天 (sweltering summer) is a standard collocation. More intense than 热 (hot) and on a par with 酷热 (extreme heat). The character 炎 itself means blazing/scorching (two fire radicals stacked), visually reinforcing the intensity. Common in weather reports, literary descriptions, and historical narratives.

Examples

1. 今年夏季格外炎热，气象部门连续多日发布高温红色预警，最高气温突破四十摄氏度，创下历史同期最高纪录。 This summer has been exceptionally hot; the meteorological department issued red alerts for extreme heat for days on end, with the high topping 40°C—setting a record for this time of year.
2. 建筑工人在炎热的户外坚持施工，工地负责人要求每隔一小时安排一次轮休并及时补充淡盐水和降温药品。 Construction workers kept working outdoors in the sweltering heat, so the site manager required a rotating break every hour and timely supplies of lightly salted water and cooling medication.
3. 即便在最为炎热的正午时分，这片原始森林的林荫深处依然保持着令人惊喜的凉爽，温度比外部低了近十度。 Even at the hottest midday hours, deep in the shade of this old-growth forest it remains surprisingly cool—nearly ten degrees cooler than outside.

Usage Guide

Context: weather, history, outdoor work, literature

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 为应对极端炎热天气对公众健康造成的威胁，市政府专门开放了多处纳凉点，供户外劳动者和老年居民避暑休息。(To address the threat that extreme sweltering weather poses to public health, the municipal government opened several designated cooling centres specifically for outdoor workers and elderly residents to seek relief from the heat.)
• 当年的长征途中，红军战士不仅要穿越严寒的雪山，还要忍受草地上炎热潮湿的气候，承受着难以想象的艰苦考验。(During the Long March, Red Army soldiers had not only to cross the bitterly cold snow-capped mountains but also to endure the scorching, humid climate of the marshlands — an ordeal of hardship beyond imagination.)

Don't Say

• 这碗汤炎热 — 炎热 describes intense atmospheric or weather-related heat, not the temperature of food or objects; for hot food or drink use 烫 (scalding) or 热 (hot); 炎热的汤 sounds unnatural

Origin & History

炎 (blazing/scorching — two fire radicals stacked, intensifying heat) + 热 (hot/heat) — doubled fire imagery emphasising extreme atmospheric heat

Cultural Context

Era: Classical/Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal