Definition
起火 is a separable verb (离合词) with two main senses: literal fire and figurative anger. Literally it means 'to catch fire' or 'to be on fire'; you can also use it for starting a fire for cooking. Figuratively it means 'to get angry' or 'to lose one's temper'. As a separable verb, you can insert elements between 起 and 火, such as 起了火 (caught fire) or 起了一场火 (a fire broke out). The figurative sense is common in colloquial speech.
v.o.
to catch fireto be on fireto start a fire (for cooking)to get angryto lose one's temper
Examples
- 起火，！Chúfáng bù xiǎoxīn qǐ huǒ le, kuài jiào xiāofángchē!The kitchen accidentally caught fire — call the fire truck!
- 起火。Tā tīng dào zhège xiāoxi hòu lìkè qǐ huǒ le.He immediately got angry after hearing this news.
- 。Zuówǎn nà dòng lóu qǐ le yì chǎng dà huǒ.A big fire broke out in that building last night.
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