炎ほのお

ほ

の

お

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 5,000

Meanings

1

noun

flame; blaze

Physical fire; the visible, hot gaseous part of a fire.

ろうそくの炎ほのおがゆらゆら揺ゆれている。
The candle flame is flickering.
火か事じで建たて物ものが炎ほのおに包つつまれた。
The building was engulfed in flames in the fire.

2

noun

flames of emotion; passion

Metaphorical use for intense emotions such as love, jealousy, or anger; often in literary or dramatic contexts.

彼かれの心こころに嫉しっ妬との炎ほのおが燃もえ上あがった。
The flames of jealousy flared up in his heart.

Written forms

炎Usage96%
- ほのお
  Standard kanji spelling; high-frequency in news and common usage.
- ほむら
ほのおUsage3%
Kana spelling used when avoiding kanji or for clarity.
焔Usage1%
- ほのお
  Variant kanji form; less common and may appear in literary or older texts.
- ほむら
ほむらUsage<1%

Kanji

炎inflammation, flame, blaze
焔flame, blaze

Similar words

火ひ
火 is the general word for fire, while 炎 specifically refers to the visible flames.
火か炎えん
火炎 is a more technical or formal term for flame, often used in compounds like 火炎放射器 (flamethrower).

Etymology

The kanji 炎 is a compound ideograph of two 火 (fire) elements, representing rising flames. The reading ほのお is a native Japanese word, with the variant ほむら being an older or poetic form.