火 Kanji: Meaning, Readings and Stroke Order

火: fire; flame; Tuesday. JLPT N5; 4 strokes.

Readings

On readings

カ

Kun readings

ひ、-び、ほ-

Romaji

ka, hi, bi, ho

Study notes

火 means 'fire'; it also indicates Tuesday, 火曜日 (かようび).

On reading: カ in 火曜日 (かようび, Tuesday), 火事 (かじ, fire), 火山 (かざん, volcano), 消火 (しょうか, fire extinguishing), 噴火 (ふんか, eruption), 放火 (ほうか, arson).

Kun readings: ひ, 'fire': 火花 (ひばな, spark), 火元 (ひもと, origin of a fire). In compound it becomes び: 花火 (はなび, fireworks), 強火 (つよび, high fire), 弱火 (よわび, low fire). ほ appears in few words, such as 火照る (ほてる, to feel warm) and 火影 (ほかげ, glow of fire).

Special readings: 火傷 (やけど, burn) is read as a whole word.

Remember: in the bottom of some kanji fire takes the form of four dots, 灬, as in 点 (てん, dot) and 熱 (ねつ, heat, fever).

Example words

• 火曜日 (かようび) — Tuesday
• 火 (ひ) — fire; flame
• 花火 (はなび) — fireworks
• 火影 (ほかげ) — firelight; shadow cast by fire

Example sentences

火に気をつけてください。

hi ni ki wo tsukete kudasai.

Please be careful with fire.

Stroke order

Follow the steps in order. Each new stroke is highlighted.

Stroke paths: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0. Sequential diagrams derived from the original paths.