hearth · furnace

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 炉 has 8 strokes and denotes equipment used for heating rooms or materials.
• Basic usage: 暖炉 is read だんろ, and 溶鉱炉 is read ようこうろ.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• A fireplace and a blast furnace
  • 暖炉の前で means in front of a fireplace.
  • 溶鉱炉を使って鉄鉱石を高温で溶かします means melting iron ore at high temperatures using a blast furnace. 溶鉱炉 names an industrial installation.