About
硷 is a phono-semantic compound that combines the stone radical 石 (shí), which indicates solid inorganic materials, geological substances, or chemical compounds derived from the earth, with the phonetic component 佥 (qiān). Though 佥 normally means "all" or "unanimous", here it only provides the pronunciation. It is the simplified form of 礆 and denotes alkali, especially naturally occurring soda ash or basic chemical bases used in manufacturing and cleaning. Serving as a variant of the more common character for alkali, 硷 remains strictly limited to scientific, chemical, and industrial contexts, never acquiring literary or metaphorical senses.
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