Definition

1. Verb (Intransitive):
   • To experience a sudden sensation of internal heat, especially in the face or head: This is the primary meaning, rooted in traditional Eastern medicine (Đông Y) concepts. It describes a physiological feeling of heat rising within the body, often due to imbalance or strong emotion.
   • To flare up, to lose one's temper suddenly: A colloquial, figurative extension of the first meaning. It describes a person's anger igniting quickly and visibly, as if heat is rising to their head.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Tôi cảm thấy người nóng, mặt đỏ, chắc là bốc hoả. (I feel hot, my face is red; I must be experiencing that rising heat.)
  • Nghe tin đó, anh ấy bốc hoả ngay lập tức. (Upon hearing that news, he flared up immediately.)
  • Bà ấy hay bốc hoả vào tuổi trung niên. (She often has hot flashes during middle age.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is commonly used to describe symptoms associated with menopause ("hot flashes"), though in a broader traditional medical context, it can occur in anyone due to various imbalances.
• In its figurative sense, it implies an anger that is intense, sudden, and often visibly apparent in one's demeanor or facial expression.

Variants and Related Words

• Nóng trong người: A descriptive phrase meaning "to feel hot inside the body," related to the physiological sense of "bốc hoả."
• Nổi nóng: A common synonym for the anger-related meaning, meaning "to get hot-tempered" or "to lose one's cool."
• Nổi giận: A more standard term for "to get angry."

Synonyms

• To flare up: To suddenly become angry.
• To have a hot flash: To experience a sudden feeling of heat (medical context).
• To lose one's temper: To suddenly become angry.
• To see red: To become very angry (idiomatic).

Related Idioms

• While "bốc hoả" itself is often used idiomatically, a related concept is "máu nóng lên" (blood heats up), which similarly describes rising anger.
• "Bực mình bốc hoả": A common collocation meaning "so annoyed that one flares up."

1. To get hot in the face, to get hot in the head (theo quan niệm đông y)

khẩu ngữ

1. To flash out (in anger)