焦 jiāo scorched
burned; scorched; anxious; burnt; worried; coke
How it came to be
形声 · Meaning + sound · 假借 borrowed for its sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
The bronze form shows a bird above the sign for small, which gives the sound; later small turned into fire, and the sign was borrowed to write to scorch.
用法
- Two senses: scorched/burnt, and anxious: 烧焦 (shāojiāo) to burn/char, 焦炭 coke (fuel).
- Anxiety thread: 焦急 (jiāojí) anxious/worried, 焦虑 (jiāolǜ) anxiety, 焦躁 (jiāozào) fretful and restless.
- 焦点 (jiāodiǎn) = focal point/focus (焦点问题 the key issue); 聚焦 (jùjiāo) to focus.
- 心急如焦 / 焦头烂额 (jiāotóu-làn'é) = utterly frazzled and overwhelmed.