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electricity / electric

diàn
5 strokes · 田-like body with a tail — simplified from 電 (rain 雨 over lightning) · HSK 1

Where 电 comes from

The traditional 電 put 雨 (rain) on top of a lightning bolt striking a field — electricity as the storm's flash. Simplified 电 keeps just the bolt: a field 田 shape with the lightning's tail whipping out the bottom.

电 in Chinese culture

电 powers the modern vocabulary like nothing else: 电脑 (electric brain — computer), 电视 (electric seeing — TV), 电话 (electric speech — telephone), 电影 (electric shadow — movie). Chinese built its entire technology lexicon by pairing 电 with body parts and senses, which makes new words wonderfully guessable. Learn 电 and half of the gadget aisle reads itself.

Example

电脑 diànnǎo — computer

我的电脑很新。
Wǒ de diànnǎo hěn xīn.
My computer is very new.

How to remember it

A lightning bolt whipping its tail out of a field — ELECTRICITY.

电影 'electric shadow' (movie) is often praised as one of the most poetic tech words in any language.

Same sound, different tones

1st diān
to jolt
3rd diǎn
dot / o'clock
4th diàn
electricity

Words unlocked by 电

电脑 diànnǎo
computer
电视 diànshì
television
电影 diànyǐng
movie
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