Flame in Japanese: honō, explained in detail with its related expressions

How to say “flame” in Japanese

Japanese native speakers would say “honō”. It is the Japanese word for ‘flame’ or ‘blaze’. In this blog post, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “honō”
• “Honō” in kanji
• Example #1: how to say “flame” in Japanese
• Example #2: another usage of “honō”
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “honō”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “honō”.

• honō – 炎 (ほのお) : a noun meaning ‘flame’ or ‘blaze’ in Japanese.

Its meaning and definitions are quite simple and clear, I think. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji character in detail.

“Honō” in kanji

Below is the kanji character used for “honō”.

• 炎 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘flame’ or ‘blaze’. This can also be used to express something hot and bright like a flame.

We can see that this kanji character consists of two of the same kanji character, “火”. It is widely used to mean ‘fire’. In the Japanese language, therefore, a flame can be considered as the combination of fires. In fact, Japanese native speakers often say “honō” to express a large fire. Perhaps English speakers use “flame” and “fire” in the opposite way. But, this is the Japanese concept and what their kanji characters express.

When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about meanings of words they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “honō” through the detailed kanji check above.

Then, let me explain how to use “honō” through the example sentences below.

Example #1: how to say “flame” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• tachi – 達 (たち) : a suffix used after a noun or pronoun to make its plural form. In the example, it is put after the pronoun, “watashi”, to make its plural form, “watashi tachi”, which means ‘we’ in Japanese. Learn more about Japanese plural.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, it is put after the plural pronoun, “watashi tachi”, to make the subject word in the sentence.
• aoi – 青い (あおい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘blue’ in Japanese. In the example, it is used as a modifier before the noun, “honō”.
• wo – を : a case partiale used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, it is put after the noun phrase, “aoi honō”, to make the object in the sentence.
• mi – 見 (み) : one conjugation of the verb, “miru”, which means ‘to see’, ‘to watch’, ‘to look’, or such. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb put after a verb or adjective to make its past tense. Probably it is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the example, it is put after the conjugated verb, “mi”, to make its past tense, “mi ta”.

This is a typical usage of “honō”. In this example, it is used as a part of the idiomatic expression, “aoi honō”, which means ‘a blue flame’ or ‘blue flames’ in Japanese. Sometimes Japanese people use this to describe something exceeding a usual limit. Of course, it can be used to express physically a blue flame.

Example #2: another usage of “honō”

Below are the new words and particles used in the example sentence.

• kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : the same as explained in the last example. In this example, it is put after the pronoun, “kare”, to make the subject word in the sentence.
• ikari – 怒り (いかり) : a noun meaning ‘anger’ in Japanese.
• no – の : a case particle used to limit the meaning of its following word with the meaning of its preceding word based on relations like possessing and belonging. In the example, it is used to limit the meaning of its following word, “honō”, with the meaning of its preceding word, “ikari”. The formed phrase, “ikari no honō”, can literally be translated as “flame of anger”. Although word orders in Japanese and English are different, the role of “no” is quite similar to that of the English preposition, “of”.
• wo – を : the same as explained in the last example. In this example, it is put after the noun phrase, “ikari no honō”, to make the object in the sentence.
• moyashi – 燃やし (もやし) : one conjugation of the verb, “moyasu”, which means ‘to burn’ in Japanese. It has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle put after a verb or adjective to make its te form. In the example, it is put after the conjugated verb, “moyashi”, to make its te form. Verbs need to be changed to their te forms to be connected with the auxiliary verb, “iru”.
• iru – いる : an auxiliary verb used to express the continuity of the action described by its preceding verb. In the example, it is put after the te-formed verb, “moyashi te”, to express the continuity of the action, ‘to burn’.

This is another typical usage of “honō”. In this example, it is used as a part of the idiomatic expression, “ikari no honō”. This is sometimes used as a kind of metaphor for burning anger. Interestingly, the English language also has the similar expression, “burning flame of anger”. Perhaps, however, I should have translated the Japanese sentence as ‘he is burning the flame of anger inside’ to reflect the original nuance more precisely.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the word. “honō”, in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• honō – 炎 (ほのお) : a noun meaning ‘flame’ or ‘blaze’ in Japanese. This kanji consists of two of the same kanji, “火”, which means ‘fire’ in Japanese. So, in the Japanese language, a flame can be considered as the combination of fires. In fact, Japanese native speakers say “honō” to describe a large fire.
• aoi honō – 青い炎 (あおいほのお) : a Japanese idiomatic expression for ‘blue flame’. It can be used to express something exceeding a usual limit. Of course, it can mean physically a blue flame.
• ikari no honō – 怒りの炎 (いかりのほのお) : a Japanese idiomatic expression for ‘flame of anger’. This is a kind of metaphor.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.