About
The character 煤, now meaning coal, structurally combines the fire radical 火 with the phonetic component 某. Its earlier usage referred to soot or lampblack, a black powder produced by fire, which is consistent with the semantic field of its radical. As the use of mineral coal developed, the character was applied to this new substance, leading to a shift in its primary meaning from a general carbonaceous residue to the specific fossil fuel, while its compositional elements remained the same.
Example Sentences Hide
这个城市用煤取暖。
煤炭是一种重要能源。
工人们在煤矿里工作。
工厂燃烧煤来发电。
煤的开采会影响环境。
中国是煤的生产大国。
煤的贸易在全球很活跃。
尽管煤污染环境，但它仍是主要能源。