热
rè
Hot soup, hot day, hot item
The picture Heat rising out of something until it warms your palm and the air around it. 热 is heat rising and spreading; 冷 is heat draining away and settling.
Where the picture shows up in 热
-
hot to touch
小心，汤很热。
xiǎoxīn, tāng hěn rè
Careful, the soup is hot.
A finger touches the rim of the bowl and comes straight back
-
hot weather
今天太热了，开空调吧。
jīntiān tài rè le, kāi kōngtiáo ba
It's too hot today — let's turn on the air conditioning.
Sweat running down the neck until the shirt sticks to the back
-
to reheat
帮我热一下饭。
bāng wǒ rè yíxià fàn
Could you heat the rice for me?
Steam climbing again off rice that had gone cold and stiff
Also works as a verb
-
feverish
孩子身上有点热。
háizi shēnshang yǒudiǎn rè
The child feels a bit hot.
A hand laid on a forehead, and it is the palm that warms first
-
in demand
这个东西最近很热。
zhège dōngxi zuìjìn hěn rè
This item is very hot lately.
A crowd pressing at the shelf, leaving nothing but the empty space
All of it in one picture
热 is heat coming up and warming what is around it. Rising out of a bowl it makes you pull your fingers back; rising out of the air it is a hot day; put back into cold rice it means to reheat; rising off a forehead it is a fever; rising in front of a product it is the crowd that means it's hot.