热
hot
rè
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.
Character breakdown
hot; warm (radical 灬 'fire' on the bottom)
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
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热 appears in 1 podcast episode at natural native speed, with full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
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
FAQ
Related words from the same episodes
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