玩 火 自 焚

wán huǒ zì féndictionary entry

to play with fire and get burnt (idiom) / fig. to play with evil and suffer the consequences / to get one's fingers burnt

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-d6e3b9e088e13247. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

玩火自焚 玩火自焚 [wan2 huo3 zi4 fen2] /to play with fire and get burnt (idiom); fig. to play with evil and suffer the consequences/to get one's fingers burnt/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

玩
wán
to play / to have fun / to trifle with / toy / sth used for amusement / curio or antique (Taiwan pr. [wàn]) / to keep sth for entertainment / Taiwan pr. [wàn]
火
huǒ
fire / urgent / ammunition / fiery or flaming / internal heat (Chinese medicine) / hot (popular) / classifier for military units (old) / Kangxi radical 86
Huǒ
surname Huo
自
zì
(bound form) self / oneself / from / since / naturally / as a matter of course
焚
fén
to burn

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.