Definitions
Etymology phono-semantic
fire
About
The character 烃 is a modern phono-semantic compound created for organic chemistry to denote a hydrocarbon, a compound of only hydrogen and carbon. Its semantic radical 火 (huǒ, fire) indicates the high flammability typical of substances like natural gas and petroleum. In the simplified form, the phonetic component is 𢀖 (tīng); the traditional character 烴 uses 巠 (jīng). The pronunciation "tīng" was devised by blending the initial of 碳 (tàn, carbon) with the final of 氢 (qīng, hydrogen). Its use is confined to scientific and technical contexts.