炉(ろ)

ろ

noun

furnace, hearth, fireplace

1. furnace, hearth, fireplace

A structure for containing fire, used for heating, cooking, or industrial processes. Ranges from traditional sunken hearths (囲炉裏(いろり)) in Japanese homes to industrial furnaces and nuclear reactors.

炉(ろ)に火(ひ)を入(い)れた。

I lit the furnace.

古(ふる)い民家(みんか)には囲炉裏(いろり)と呼(よ)ばれる炉(ろ)がある。

Old folk houses have a hearth called an irori.

この製鉄所(せいてつじょ)の溶鉱炉(ようこうろ)は一日(いちにち)二十四時間(にじゅうよじかん)稼働(かどう)しており、鉄(てつ)を溶(と)かし続(つづ)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(ろ) 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(ふろ)) used in warmer months.

Compounds

囲炉裏(いろり): traditional sunken hearth
溶鉱炉(ようこうろ): blast furnace
原子炉(げんしろ): nuclear reactor
暖炉(だんろ): fireplace
風炉(ふろ): portable brazier (tea ceremony)

Related Words

Related: 暖炉(だんろ) (fireplace)

general

Added 2026.2.26 18:48 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01

13500/13588_ro