停电
tíng diàn · HSK 7
power cut
🔌 停电 = 停 stop + 电 electricity = electricity stops = a power cut
停 (tíng) means stop or halt, the same 停 as in 停车 park-the-car. 电 (diàn) is electricity. Glue them: the electricity halts, so the power is cut.
停 — person 亻 + pavilion 亭
A semantic-phonetic compound: 亻 (person) gives the meaning, while 亭 (pavilion, also pronounced tíng) supplies the sound. The image is of a person stopping at a roadside pavilion to rest, which yields the modern senses 'to stop, halt, park.'
电 — rain 雨 + lightning tail 电
Originally a pictograph of lightning streaking from a cloud, written 電 with the rain radical 雨 on top. The bottom 电 depicts the zigzag flash itself. The simplified form 电 drops 雨 and keeps just the lightning shape. Meaning extended from 'lightning' to 'electricity' in modern usage.