Definition

1. Verb:
   • To set fire / to commit arson: The primary meaning of "phóng hoả" is the deliberate and illegal act of setting something on fire with the intent to cause damage or destruction.
   • To set ablaze / to ignite: It describes the action of starting a fire, often a large or significant one.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Kẻ tình nghi đã phóng hoả nhà kho. (The suspect set fire to the warehouse.)
  • Quân đội phóng hoả đốt cháy đồn giặc. (The army set the enemy post ablaze.)
  • Hành động phóng hoả là một tội ác nghiêm trọng. (The act of arson is a serious crime.)

Advanced Usage

• "phóng hoả" as a legal term: In legal contexts, "phóng hoả" specifically refers to the crime of arson.
  • Hắn bị truy tố về tội phóng hoả. (He was prosecuted for the crime of arson.)

Variants and Related Words

• Đốt (v): to burn. This is a more general term for burning, which may or may not be illegal or destructive.

  • Đốt lá khô trong vườn. (To burn dry leaves in the garden.)

• Hoả hoạn (n): fire (as a disaster, conflagration). This noun refers to the fire incident itself.

  • Hoả hoạn thiêu rụi toà nhà. (The fire consumed the building.)

Synonyms

• To commit arson: to illegally set fire to property.
• To set fire / to set on fire: to cause something to start burning.
• To torch (colloquial): to set fire to something deliberately.

Related Idioms

• "Phóng hoả đầu tiên": Literally "to set the first fire," used metaphorically to mean to be the first to initiate a conflict or a negative action.
  • Họ là bên phóng hoả đầu tiên trong cuộc tranh cãi. (They were the side who fired the first shot in the argument.)