📖 Meaning
Literally to set fire to one's own body. It is a metaphor for bringing trouble or hardship upon oneself through one's own actions. The idiom warns that provoking a dangerous situation or needlessly interfering can backfire on the person responsible.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase comes from the Ming dynasty story collection Zui Xing Shi (The Drunken Awakening Stone) by Donglu Gukuang Sheng. In the third chapter, a local constable comes personally to arrest someone, and the villagers, not knowing what terrible crime is involved, fear that getting involved will bring disaster upon themselves. They hurry to hand over the suspects Yu Lin and his wife Feng to avoid being dragged into the affair. The idiom later came to describe anyone who courts trouble by meddling in risky matters.
💡 Example Usage
他明知对方背景复杂，还偏要去招惹，简直是惹火烧身。
He knew their background was complicated, yet he insisted on provoking them — he's only bringing trouble upon himself.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 惹火烧身
- Pinyin: rě huǒ shāo shēn
- Literal Translation: stir up, fire, burn, oneself
- Category: Action
- Characters: 4