化石
huà shí · HSK 5
fossil
🦴🪨 化石 = transform + stone; bones turned to rock over eons
化 means 'transform/change' (same as in 变化) and 石 means 'stone'. A fossil is literally a once-living thing transformed into stone. The compound is etymologically transparent across Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
化 — person 亻 + spoon/upside-down person 匕
化 is an associative compound showing a standing person 亻 next to 匕, originally a depiction of a person turned upside-down. Together they suggest a figure transforming from one state to another, giving the core meaning 'change' or 'transform'. The character later extended to senses like 'convert', 'influence', and the noun suffix '-ization'.