DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

水深火熱

简水深火热 · 繁水深火熱

Mandarin · pinyin shuǐ shēn huǒ rè

deep water and scorching fire
abyss of suffering (idiom)

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

水: shuǐ · water, liquid, lotion, juice
深: shēn · deep; depth; far; very, extreme
火: huǒ · fire, flame; burn; anger, rage
熱: rè · hot; heat; fever; restless; zeal
热: rè · hot; heat; fever; restless; zeal

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

3–1–3–4 · shui3 shen1 huo3 re4

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

5character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

水深火熱 · find source passages ↗ · 水深火热 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

seoi2 sam1 fo2 jit6

Cantonese word readings for 水深火熱. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to be in deep distress; to live with great misery and hardship

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack