放火

Chinese

		to release; to free; to let go to release; to free; to let go; to put; to place; to let out	fire; angry; fierce fire; angry; fierce; fiery; thriving
trad. (放火)		放	火
simp. #(放火)		放	火

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): fànghuǒ

  (Zhuyin): ㄈㄤˋ ㄏㄨㄛˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): fong³ fo²
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): piong-fó
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): pàng-hé / pàng-hóe

  (Teochew, Peng'im): bang³ huê²

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: fànghuǒ
    • Zhuyin: ㄈㄤˋ ㄏㄨㄛˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: fànghuǒ
    • Wade–Giles: fang⁴-huo³
    • Yale: fàng-hwǒ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: fanqhuoo
    • Palladius: фанхо (fanxo)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fɑŋ⁵¹ xu̯ɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: fong³ fo²
    • Yale: fong fó
    • Cantonese Pinyin: fong³ fo²
    • Guangdong Romanization: fong³ fo²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /fɔːŋ³³ fɔː³⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: piong-fó
    • Hakka Romanization System: biong fo^ˋ
    • Hagfa Pinyim: biong⁴ fo³
    • Sinological IPA: /pi̯oŋ⁵⁵ fo³¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Taipei)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: pàng-hé
    • Tâi-lô: pàng-hé
    • Phofsit Daibuun: parnghea
    • Sinological IPA (Taipei): /paŋ¹¹⁻⁵³ he⁵³/
  • (Hokkien: Kaohsiung)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: pàng-hóe
    • Tâi-lô: pàng-hué
    • Phofsit Daibuun: parnghoea
    • Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /paŋ²¹⁻⁴¹ hue⁴¹/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: bang³ huê²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: pàng hué
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /paŋ²¹³⁻⁵⁵ hue⁵²⁻²¹/

Verb

放⫽火 (verb-object)

1. (intransitive) to set on fire, specifically to commit arson

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 放火 (“to set on fire; to commit arson”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		放火, 縱火
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	放火
	Singapore	放火
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	放火
Central Plains Mandarin	Wanrong	放火
Cantonese	Hong Kong	放火
Gan	Nanchang	放火
	Lichuan	放火
Hakka	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	放火
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	放火
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	放火
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	放火
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	放火
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	放火
Southern Min	Xiamen	放火, 放火燒
	Quanzhou	放火, 放火燒
	Jinjiang	放火, 放火燒
	Zhangzhou	放火, 放火燒
	Taipei	放火, 放火燒
	Kaohsiung	放火, 放火燒
	Singapore (Hokkien)	放火, 放火燒
	Manila (Hokkien)	放火, 放火燒

Derived terms

• 一頭放火，一頭放水 / 一头放火，一头放水
• 只許州官放火，不許百姓點燈 / 只许州官放火，不许百姓点灯 (zhǐ xǔ zhōuguān fànghuǒ, bùxǔ bǎixìng diǎndēng)
• 州官放火 (zhōuguānfànghuǒ)
• 放火燒 / 放火烧 (fànghuǒshāo)
• 放火犯 (fànghuǒfàn)
• 殺人放火 / 杀人放火 (shārénfànghuǒ)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (放火):

• → Japanese: 放(ほう)火(か) (hōka)
• → Korean: 방화(放火) (banghwa)
• → Vietnamese: phóng hoả (放火)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
放	火
ほう Grade: 3	か Grade: 1
on'yomi

Etymology

From Middle Chinese compound 放火 (MC pjangH xwaX, “let loose” + “fire”). Compare modern Chinese 放火 (fànghuǒ).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ほーか [hòóká] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ho̞ːka̠]

Noun

放(ほう)火(か) • (hōka) ^{←はうくわ (faukwa)?}

1. arson, setting fire to something

Derived terms

• 放(ほう)火(か)狂(きょう) (hōkakyō): pyromania
• 放(ほう)火(か)罪(ざい) (hōkazai): (the crime of) arson
• 放(ほう)火(か)者(しゃ) (hōkasha): an arsonist
• 放(ほう)火(か)犯(はん)人(にん) (hōka hannin): an arsonist
• 放(ほう)火(か)魔(ま) (hōkama): a habitual arsonist

Verb

放(ほう)火(か)する • (hōka suru) ^{←はうくわ (faukwa)?}intransitive suru (stem 放(ほう)火(か)し (hōka shi), past 放(ほう)火(か)した (hōka shita))

1. to set fire to something

Conjugation

Conjugation of "放火する" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs)

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	放火し	ほうかし	hōka shi
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	放火し	ほうかし	hōka shi
Shūshikei ("terminal")	放火する	ほうかする	hōka suru
Rentaikei ("attributive")	放火する	ほうかする	hōka suru
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	放火すれ	ほうかすれ	hōka sure
Meireikei ("imperative")	放火せよ¹ 放火しろ²	ほうかせよ¹ ほうかしろ²	hōka seyo¹ hōka shiro²
Key constructions
Passive	放火される	ほうかされる	hōka sareru
Causative	放火させる 放火さす	ほうかさせる ほうかさす	hōka saseru hōka sasu
Potential	放火できる	ほうかできる	hōka dekiru
Volitional	放火しよう	ほうかしよう	hōka shiyō
Negative	放火しない	ほうかしない	hōka shinai
Negative continuative	放火せず	ほうかせず	hōka sezu
Formal	放火します	ほうかします	hōka shimasu
Perfective	放火した	ほうかした	hōka shita
Conjunctive	放火して	ほうかして	hōka shite
Hypothetical conditional	放火すれば	ほうかすれば	hōka sureba

¹ Written imperative
² Spoken imperative

References

• “放火”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026

Korean

Hanja in this term
放	火

Noun

放火 • (banghwa) (hangeul 방화)

1. hanja form^? of 방화 (“arson”)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
放	火

Verb

放火

1. chữ Hán form of phóng hoả (“to set fire”)