Definition
玩火 literally means 'to play with fire', but it is almost always used figuratively to mean 'to take dangerous or reckless risks' — someone who 玩火 is knowingly doing something that could backfire. As a separable verb (离合词), the syllables can be split: you can say 玩了一次火 ('took a risky move once') or 玩得有点过火了 ('went a bit too far'). The literal sense (actual fire) also exists but is less common in everyday speech.
v.o.
(figurative) to play with fireto take reckless or dangerous risks
Examples
- 玩火。Nǐ zhèyàng gēn lǎobǎn shuōhuǎng jiǎnzhí shì zài wán huǒ.Lying to your boss like this is basically playing with fire.
- ，。Tā wán le yí cì huǒ, jiéguǒ sǔnshī cǎnzhòng.He took a risky move once and ended up suffering heavy losses.
- 玩火，。Qiān wàn bié zài shùlín lǐ wán huǒ, hěn róngyì yǐnqǐ huǒzāi.Never play with fire in the woods; it can easily cause a fire.
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