How to Write 烽 (fēng) — Meaning “beacon fire”

Picture a fire (火) burning at the top of a tall mountain peak (夆). This image of a bright flame on a high point matches the idea of a beacon fire used to send warnings from afar.

Write the left radical 火 first with four strokes in order: dot, short left-falling stroke, long right-falling stroke, then a dot. The right part 夆 has seven strokes — start with the top 夂 (three strokes) then add 丰 (four horizontal and vertical strokes). Keep the 火 side narrow and the right side slightly taller.

烽 means beacon fire and is specifically used for military signaling. 炤 (zhào) means to shine or illuminate, and 炫 (xuàn) means to dazzle or show off. Visually, 烽 has 夆 on the right, while 炤 has 召 (summon) and 炫 has 玄 (dark, mysterious).

烽 appears mainly in historical or literary terms like 烽火台 (beacon tower) and 烽火 (flames of war). It is not common in daily speech but is used when discussing ancient Chinese military communication, especially along the Great Wall, where smoke and fire signals were sent from tower to tower.

Common words containing 烽 include: 烽火台 (fēng huǒ tái) — beacon tower; 烽火 (fēng huǒ) — beacon fire / flames of war; 烽烟 (fēng yān) — smoke from a beacon fire / smoke of war.