炎暑(えんしょ)

えんしょ
noun
scorching heat; blazing heat
formalweather
1. scorching heat; blazing heat; intense summer heat
Extremely hot weather, particularly the intense heat of midsummer. A literary and emphatic term that evokes the feeling of being scorched by the sun.
炎暑(えんしょ)が続(つづ)く。
The scorching heat continues.
炎暑(えんしょ)の中(なか)、外(そと)で働(はたら)くのは大変(たいへん)だ。
Working outside in the blazing heat is tough.
今年(ことし)の夏(なつ)は炎暑(えんしょ)が厳(きび)しく、外出(がいしゅつ)を控(ひか)える人(ひと)が多(おお)かった。
This summer the heat was so intense that many people refrained from going out.

The kanji 炎(えん) (flame) + 暑(しょ) (heat) vividly conveys flame-like, scorching heat. More literary and expressive than everyday words for hot weather.

Similar words (HEAT intensity SCALE)

  • 暑(あつ)さ — heat, hotness (neutral, everyday)
  • 猛暑(もうしょ) — intense heat (strong; used in weather reports)
  • 酷暑(こくしょ) — extreme heat, brutal heat (stronger still)
  • 炎暑(えんしょ) — scorching, blazing heat (literary/emphatic)
  • 灼熱(しゃくねつ) — searing heat (the strongest; also used for deserts and furnaces)

Usage

Appears in literary writing, essays, and formal weather commentary more than in casual speech.

Related Words

Compare: 暑(あつ)さ (heat, hotness)
Compare: 猛暑(もうしょ) (intense heat (strong)
Compare: 酷暑(こくしょ) (extreme heat, brutal heat)
general
Added 2026.3.27 9:23 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
19500/19813_ensho