灬
fire, fire radical (no. 86)
Strokes4
Readings
On'yomi
- ヒョウ
- カ
Kun'yomi
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Meaning
灬 is the fire radical, a component form of 火 used at the bottom of characters. Its core idea is fire or heat, and it appears in kanji related to burning, cooking, or intense energy.
Study
Etymology
灬 is a radical form of 火 (fire), derived from the stylization of flames. When used as a component at the bottom of characters, the four dots represent fire or heat.
Meaning mnemonic
The four dots look like small flames or sparks at the base of a fire. Picture a campfire with four glowing embers: 灬 is fire.
Reading mnemonic
For ヒョウ, imagine a hyena (ヒョウ) dancing around a fire: the hyena's cackle sounds like ヒョウ, and the fire radical 灬 is the campfire it circles.