炎 (yán) is a Chinese character meaning “scorching”. It is written from 火 (fire) and 火 (fire), one above the other, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “inflammation; blazing hot”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
火 + 火
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: IDS ⿱火火，笔画核验 4+4=8（hanzi-writer-data）；《说文解字·炎部》：炎，火光上也。从重火
Memory aid
One 火 (fire) sitting on top of another 火. Nothing else is added — the character is simply fire doubled, flames climbing over flames: blazing heat, and by extension the heat and swelling of an inflammation.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 肺炎fèi yánpneumonia炎 = yán
- 肝炎gān yánhepatitis炎 = yán
- 肾炎shèn yánnephritis (inflammation of the kidney)炎 = yán
- 炎症yán zhènginflammation炎 = yán
Go deeper
All readings
inflammation; blazing hot
scorching; blazing hot; and in medical terms inflammation (used as a suffix: 肺炎 pneumonia, 肝炎 hepatitis)
火苗重叠，本义指极热；在医学词语中作后缀，表示身体某部位发炎。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 肺炎fèi yánpneumonia炎 = yán
- 肝炎gān yánhepatitis炎 = yán
- 肾炎shèn yánnephritis (inflammation of the kidney)炎 = yán
- 炎症yán zhènginflammation炎 = yán
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 炎 mean?
炎 (yán) means scorching; blazing hot; and in medical terms inflammation (used as a suffix: 肺炎 pneumonia, 肝炎 hepatitis).
How do you pronounce 炎?
It is pronounced yán.
What parts is 炎 made of?
火 (fire) and 火 (fire), one above the other. The recorded source is: IDS ⿱火火，笔画核验 4+4=8（hanzi-writer-data）；《说文解字·炎部》：炎，火光上也。从重火. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 炎 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 炎?
火. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 炎?
Common ones are 肺炎 and 肝炎. The reading of 炎 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.