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炙手可熱

简炙手可热 · 繁炙手可熱

Mandarin · pinyin zhì shǒu kě rè

lit. burn your hand, feel the heat (idiom)
fig. arrogance of the powerful
a mighty figure no-one dares approach
hot (exciting or in favor)

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Characters in this entry

炙: zhì · roast, broil; toast; cauterize
手: shǒu · hand
可: kě · may, can, -able; possibly
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.

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Mandarin tones

4–3–3–4 · zhi4 shou3 ke3 re4

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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.

炙手可熱 · find source passages ↗ · 炙手可热 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zek3 sau2 ho2 jit6

Cantonese word readings for 炙手可熱. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) arrogance of the powerful; a mighty figure no-one dares approach
(neologism) popular; hot; selling like hotcakes

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

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