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Kotomora

炎

inflammation, flame, blaze

JLPTN1StatusJōyō · secondary schoolFrequencyTop 2,000Strokes8

Readings

On'yomi

  • エン

Kun'yomi

  • ほのお

Nanori

  • ぬく

Meaning

炎 centers on intense, rising fire: a flame or blaze, and by extension the heat and redness of inflammation.

Most common words using 炎

20 of 312
  • 炎ほのお
    N3

    flame; blaze

  • 炎上えんじょう

    going up in flames; destruction by fire (esp. of a large building)

  • 炎症えんしょう

    inflammation; irritation

  • 肺炎はいえん
    N1

    pneumonia

  • 火炎かえん

    flame; blaze

  • 肝炎かんえん

    hepatitis

  • 陽炎かげろう

    heat shimmer; heat haze; shimmering of hot air

  • 炎天下えんてんか

    under the blazing sun; in sweltering heat

  • 鼻炎びえん

    rhinitis; coryza; nasal inflammation

  • 火炎瓶かえんびん

    Molotov cocktail; petrol bomb; gasoline bomb

  • 腱鞘炎けんしょうえん

    tenosynovitis

  • 結膜炎けつまくえん

    conjunctivitis

  • 脳炎のうえん

    brain inflammation; encephalitis; cerebritis

  • 気管支炎きかんしえん
    N1

    bronchitis

  • 胃炎いえん

    gastritis; gastric catarrh

  • 中耳炎ちゅうじえん

    otitis media; middle-ear infection

  • 虫垂炎ちゅうすいえん

    appendicitis

  • 消炎しょうえん

    anti-inflammatory (substance)

  • 膵炎すいえん

    pancreatitis

  • 爆炎ばくえん

    flames produced by an explosion; explosive flames

Explore all words using 炎 →

Study

Etymology

炎 is formed by doubling 火 (fire), visually emphasizing a large or rising flame. This reduplication of fire to express intense burning is a well-established semantic formation.

Meaning mnemonic

Two fires stacked on top of each other create a towering blaze. The double fire makes the flame bigger and hotter, like an inflammation.

Reading mnemonic

For エン, picture an enormous blaze at the end of a tunnel: end -> エン, and the double fire lights up the exit.