1.
furnace, hearth, fireplace
A structure for containing fire, used for heating, cooking, or industrial processes. Ranges from traditional sunken hearths (囲炉裏) in Japanese homes to industrial furnaces and nuclear reactors.
炉に火を入れた。
I lit the furnace.
古い民家には囲炉裏と呼ばれる炉がある。
Old folk houses have a hearth called an irori.
この製鉄所の溶鉱炉は一日二十四時間稼働しており、鉄を溶かし続けている。
The blast furnace at this steelworks operates 24 hours a day, continuously melting iron.
USAGE:
Appears in many compounds related to heating and industrial processes. In tea ceremony, 炉 refers to the sunken hearth cut into the tatami floor, used during the cold months (November to April) as opposed to the portable brazier (風炉) used in warmer months.
COMMON COMPOUNDS:
- 囲炉裏: traditional sunken hearth
- 溶鉱炉: blast furnace
- 原子炉: nuclear reactor
- 暖炉: fireplace
- 風炉: portable brazier (tea ceremony)