炙手可熱

Chinese

	broil	hand; convenient; ‑er	can; may; able to can; may; able to; certain(ly); to suit; (particle used for emphasis)	heat; to heat up; fervent heat; to heat up; fervent; hot (of weather); warm up
trad. (炙手可熱)	炙	手	可	熱
simp. (炙手可热)	炙	手	可	热
Literally: “burn your hand, feel the heat”.

Etymology

From a poem by Du Fu:

炙手可熱勢絕倫，慎莫近前丞相嗔。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

炙手可热势绝伦，慎莫近前丞相嗔。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: Tang dynasty, Du Fu, Fair Ladies: A Ballad (《麗人行》), translation by Stephen Owen, The Poetry of Du Fu
Note: This is a satire of the minister Yang Guozhong on the occasion of a visit, when he was accompanied by his favourite Lady Yang (Yang Guifei), and her two sisters.

Zhìshǒukěrè shì juélún, shèn mò jìnqián chéngxiàng chēn. [Pinyin]

Heat that can burn the hands, power beyond all measure―
Take care not to come close before the Minister's angry glare!

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): zhìshǒukěrè

(Zhuyin): ㄓˋ ㄕㄡˇ ㄎㄜˇ ㄖㄜˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): zek³ sau² ho² jit⁶
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): chek-siú-khó-lia̍t / chià-siú-khó-lia̍t

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zhìshǒukěrè [Phonetic: zhìshóukěrè]
  - Zhuyin: ㄓˋ ㄕㄡˇ ㄎㄜˇ ㄖㄜˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: jhìhshǒukěrè
  - Wade–Giles: chih⁴-shou³-kʻo³-jê⁴
  - Yale: jr̀-shǒu-kě-rè
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jyhshooukeereh
  - Palladius: чжишоукэжэ (čžišoukɛžɛ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵¹ ʂoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ kʰɤ²¹⁴⁻²¹ ʐɤ⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: zek³ sau² ho² jit⁶
  - Yale: jek sáu hó yiht
  - Cantonese Pinyin: dzek⁸ sau² ho² jit⁹
  - Guangdong Romanization: zég³ seo² ho² yid⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɛːk̚³ sɐu̯³⁵ hɔː³⁵ jiːt̚²/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chek-siú-khó-lia̍t
  - Tâi-lô: tsik-siú-khó-lia̍t
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zeksiw'qoyliat
  - IPA (Xiamen): /t͡siɪk̚³²⁻⁴ siu⁵³⁻⁴⁴ kʰo⁵³⁻⁴⁴ liɛt̚⁴/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chià-siú-khó-lia̍t
  - Tâi-lô: tsià-siú-khó-lia̍t
  - Phofsit Daibuun: ciarsiw'qoyliat
  - IPA (Xiamen): /t͡sia²¹⁻⁵³ siu⁵³⁻⁴⁴ kʰo⁵³⁻⁴⁴ liɛt̚⁴/

Idiom

炙手可熱

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