氮

dàn
气 + 炎

Definitions

dàn nitrogen (chemistry)

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 气 represents the meaning and 炎 represents the sound.

Semantic: 气 Phonetic: 炎

About

The character 氮 (dàn, 'nitrogen') is a phono-semantic compound coined in the 19th century for chemical terminology: 气 represents the meaning 'gas', and 炎 represents the sound. The phonetic component 炎 was taken from 淡 (dàn, 'dilute'), which appeared in the original Chinese name for nitrogen, 淡气 (dànqì, 'dilute gas') , a reference to how nitrogen dilutes oxygen in the atmosphere. To form a single-character element name, the water radical in 淡 was replaced with the gas radical 气, retaining the pronunciation dàn.

Example Sentences Hide

空气中含有大量氮气。

Kōngqì zhōng hán yǒu dàliàng dànqì.

The air contains a large amount of nitrogen.

植物生长需要氮元素。

Zhíwù shēngzhǎng xūyào dàn yuánsù.

Plant growth requires the element nitrogen.

农民经常给庄稼施氮肥。

Nóngmín jīngcháng gěi zhuāngjia shī dànféi.

Farmers often apply nitrogen fertilizer to crops.

闪电能使空气中的氮固定。

Shǎndiàn néng shǐ kōngqì zhōng de dàn gùdìng.

Lightning can fix nitrogen in the air.

科学家正在研究新型的固氮技术。

Kēxuéjiā zhèngzài yánjiū xīnxíng de gùdàn jìshù.

Scientists are researching new nitrogen fixation technologies.

汽车尾气中的氮氧化物会污染空气。

Qìchē wěiqì zhōng de dàn yǎnghuàwù huì wūrǎn kōngqì.

Nitrogen oxides in car exhaust can pollute the air.

这个化学反应会释放出游离态的氮。

Zhège huàxué fǎnyìng huì shìfàng chū yóulítài de dàn.

This chemical reaction releases nitrogen in its free state.

自然界中的氮循环是一个复杂的过程。

Zìránjiè zhōng de dàn xúnhuán shì yīgè fùzá de guòchéng.

The nitrogen cycle in nature is a complex process.

Related Characters

Component: 气

汽 氧 氛 氢 氯 氨 氖 氟 氦 氲 氰 氤 氩 忾

Component: 炎

谈 淡 毯 痰 琰 郯 啖 锬 剡 談 赕 睒 倓 惔

Example Words

一氧化氮 氮气 氮氧化物 液氮 二氧化氮 氮化镓