熱

• Physical/Thermal: Heat or hot. Generally denotes a state or condition (ambient temperature, weather, or concentrated heat in objects) rather than the process of heating.
• Physiological/Medical: Fever or inflammation; often refers to systemic pathology rather than a simple measurement of temperature.
• Psychological:
• Negative: Restlessness, agitation, irritation, or anxiety.
• Positive: Zeal, eagerness, or passion.

• Adjective/Predicative: Most common usage (e.g., describing a person as feverish or the sun as hot).
• Noun: Used to refer to the concept of heat or a specific febrile state.
• Verb: Rarely functions as a transitive verb in early layers; if it appears to act as a verb, check if it is a nominalized state used adverbially.

• 溫 (wēn): Warmth. Generally more temperate, positive, or associated with comfort and nurturance.
• 燙 (tàng): Scalding. Specifically denotes the tactile sensation of pain caused by heat.

• Readings: Tang-period reading *njiɛt.
• Variants: Includes a semantic variant (U+24360) and simplified form (U+70ED).

When encountering senses of "enthusiasm" or "passion," exercise caution in early texts. Distinguish between virtuous zeal and obsessive, feverish agitation based on the surrounding context.