燃

rán

to burn

to ignite; to light; fig. to spark off (hopes); to start (debate); to raise (hopes)

fire (火) + sound rán (然) = to burn

火 anchors the meaning: fire, burning, ignition. 然 is borrowed for the sound rán and does not add meaning here, though it originally depicted meat cooking over flame — a fitting coincidence.

火+然→燃
火FireSemantic
然Originally depicted meat roasting over firePhonetic

他划了根火柴,把蜡烛燃起来了。

tā huá le gēn huǒ chái,bǎ là zhú rán qǐ lái le。

he struck a match and lit the candle.

这场演讲燃起了大家心中的希望。

zhè chǎng yǎn jiǎng rán qǐ le dà jiā xīn zhōng de xī wàng。

this speech sparked hope in everyone's hearts.

Words with 燃

燃烧弹

rán shāo dàn

fire bomb

燃煤

rán méi

coal fuel

燃烧

rán shāo

to ignite

阻燃

zǔ rán

fire resistant

阴燃

yīn rán

to burn without flame; to smolder

隐燃

yǐn rán

burning with no flame

点燃

diǎn rán

to ignite

乏燃料

fá rán liào

(nuclear energy) spent fuel

乏燃料棒

fá rán liào bàng

(nuclear energy) spent fuel rods

内燃

nèi rán

internal combustion (engine)

内燃机

nèi rán jī

internal combustion engine

内燃机车

nèi rán jī chē

automobile

More characters with 火

狄钬伙燎燮炏