"火の玉" = "falling star"?


I was sure about translating "火の玉" as "fireball", but Google Translate
suggests another meaning - "falling star".

Can it really be translated like that? If it's true, then in what contexts?




I hope it is no sin to post an anwer without using a dictionary.

火の玉, when it is used by us native speakers, refers to only one thing 90% of
the time --- the small light/fire that people claim to see flying around a
graveyard at night as a sign of the spirit of the dead.

Sometimes we use the word to refer to other things ---- a fireball, falling
star, bolide, you name it. 火の玉, as far as its literal meaning goes, only means
"ball of fire", therefore, one could use it to refer to something that looks
like a ball of fire.




I hope it is no sin to post an anwer without using a dictionary.

火の玉, when it is used by us native speakers, refers to only one thing 90% of
the time --- the small light/fire that people claim to see flying around a
graveyard at night as a sign of the spirit of the dead.

Sometimes we use the word to refer to other things ---- a fireball, falling
star, bolide, you name it. 火の玉, as far as its literal meaning goes, only means
"ball of fire", therefore, one could use it to refer to something that looks
like a ball of fire.

