烽

fēng

夆 + 火

Definitions

fēng beacon fire

Etymology phono-semantic

fire

Semantic: 火 Phonetic: 夆

About

烽 is a phono-semantic compound, with the fire radical 火 on the left providing its semantic category and 夆 on the right indicating its pronunciation. It originally meant a conical beacon or signal fire, a vital military communication method in ancient China for rapidly transmitting warnings of approaching enemies across long distances. Due to this historical association with border defense and military alerts, its meaning naturally extended to symbolize war, armed conflict, and states of hostility. The character frequently appears in compound words and poetic imagery to evoke the realities of warfare, military outposts, and the urgent transmission of tactical information during crises.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

烽火用来传递消息。

Fēng huǒ yòng lái chuán dì xiāo xī.

Beacon fires were used to transmit messages.

古代战争常点烽火。

Gǔ dài zhàn zhēng cháng diǎn fēng huǒ.

Ancient wars often lit beacon fires.

山上的烽火台很古老。

Shān shàng de fēng huǒ tái hěn gǔ lǎo.

The beacon tower on the mountain is very old.

士兵们守卫着烽火台。

Shì bīng men shǒu wèi zhe fēng huǒ tái.

Soldiers guard the beacon tower.

当烽烟升起时，人们就知道敌人来了。

Dāng fēng yān shēng qǐ shí, rén men jiù zhī dào dí rén lái le.

When beacon smoke rises, people know the enemy has arrived.

烽火照亮了黑暗的夜空。

Fēng huǒ zhào liàng le hēi àn de yè kōng.

Beacon fires illuminated the dark night sky.

如果烽火信号被误解，可能会导致严重的后果。

Rú guǒ fēng huǒ xìn hào bèi wù jiě, kě néng huì dǎo zhì yán zhòng de hòu guǒ.

If the beacon fire signal is misunderstood, it could lead to serious consequences.

烽火系统在古代通信中扮演了关键角色。

Fēng huǒ xì tǒng zài gǔ dài tōng xìn zhōng bàn yǎn le guān jiàn jué sè.

The beacon fire system played a key role in ancient communication.

Related Characters

Component: 夆

Component: 火

烽