热
hot
HSK level
- Pinyin
- rè
- Part of speech
- adjective
- Level
- HSK 1
- Strokes
- 10
- Register
- neutral
Stroke order for 热
热 is written with 10 strokes. The animation replays automatically.
What does 热 mean?
热 (rè) means 'hot' — referring to temperature, whether of the weather, an object, food, or a person who feels warm.
It works exactly like an English adjective but has one key Chinese-grammar feature: predicate adjectives don't need a verb, but they DO usually need an intensifier like 很 (hěn). So 'It's hot' is 很热 (hěn rè, literally 'very hot'), not 是热 — using 是 (to be) before an adjective is wrong. Without 很, a bare 热 implies contrast ('hot, not cold').
Beyond temperature, 热 has two important extended meanings: 'popular / trending' (热点 'hot topic', 热门 'popular') and 'warm-hearted / passionate' (热情 'warm and enthusiastic', 热心 'kind and helpful'). The opposite, 冷 (lěng), is its direct counterpart on the temperature scale.
Memory hook: The four dots at the bottom of 热 are the 'fire' radical (灬) — anything with that radical relates to heat or burning.
Example sentences
今天很热。
Jīntiān hěn rè.
Today is very hot.
spoken
我要喝热水。
Wǒ yào hē rè shuǐ.
I want to drink hot water.
spoken
夏天太热了。
Xiàtiān tài rè le.
Summer is too hot.
neutral
你热不热？
Nǐ rè bu rè?
Are you hot? (feeling warm)
spoken
Common phrases with 热
Synonyms
烫 means 'scalding / burning hot' — hot enough to hurt. Hot soup is 烫, not just 热. 热 covers warm-to-hot range; 烫 is the upper extreme that's dangerous to touch.
暖和 means 'warm and comfortable' — the pleasant kind of warmth (a warm sweater, warm spring weather). 热 is stronger and often uncomfortable; 暖和 is cozy.
Don't confuse 热 with
辣 means 'spicy hot' (chili-pepper hot), NOT temperature hot. 这个菜很辣 (this dish is spicy) vs. 这个菜很热 (this dish is hot in temperature). Different sensations, different words.
热闹 means 'lively / bustling' (a busy market is 热闹). It uses 热 as a component but the meaning is 'lively', not 'hot'.
Frequently asked questions
Acquire it by listening
Meet 热 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
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