炭 tàn carbon
carbon; charcoal; coal
How it came to be
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
Fire gives the meaning and the top, a shortened sound part, the sound; the word first meant what is left of burnt wood.
用法
- Charcoal: 木炭 (mùtàn) charcoal, 煤炭 (méitàn) coal, 炭火 (tànhuǒ) a charcoal fire.
- 雪中送炭 (xuězhōng-sòngtàn), to send charcoal in the snow, means to give timely help when it's most needed: the warm opposite of 锦上添花.