热

Etymology & Components

The Chinese character 热 (rè) for "hot" is composed of two parts: 火 (huǒ) for "fire" and 日 (rì) for "sun". The combination of these two characters suggests the idea of heat and warmth. The character 热 can be traced back to the oracle bone script, the earliest form of Chinese writing. In the oracle bone script, the character 热 was written as a pictograph of a person standing next to a fire. This pictograph represented the idea of someone feeling warm and comfortable near a fire. Over time, the character 热 evolved into its current form, which is still used today. The character 热 is used in a variety of words and phrases related to heat and temperature, such as 热水 (rèshuǐ) for "hot water", 热天 (rètiān) for "hot weather", and 发热 (fārè) for "to have a fever".