fo2 hei3火氣火气
Jyutpingfo2 hei3
Yalefó hei
Definition
Irritability, anger, or a short temper; also refers to internal heat in traditional Chinese medicine.
- irritability; anger; bad temper
- technicalinternal heat or fire in the body
colloquialemotionhealth
How it's used
Refers to both a literal internal heat in traditional Chinese medicine and a metaphorical bad temper. When someone is described as having a lot of fire, it implies they are easily agitated or prone to outbursts. It is common to suggest cooling drinks like 涼茶 to alleviate this state, bridging the gap between physical health and emotional temperament.
Examples
He has been very short-tempered lately and keeps losing his temper.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with just being angry. While it implies a tendency toward anger, it specifically carries the nuance of being hot-headed or irritable due to an underlying, often physiological, restlessness.
Grammar color guide
Noun
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Adjective
Adverb
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Classifier
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Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
