枪
qiāng · HSK 5
gun
🔫 枪 = 木 (wood) + 仓 (storehouse) — wooden stockpile weapon
The 木 radical points to the original wooden shaft of a spear, while 仓 (cāng, storehouse) supplies the sound qiāng. Modern meaning shifted from spear to firearm, but the wood + sound-clue structure still decodes it.
枪 — wood 木 + 仓 cāng (phonetic)
枪 is a semantic-phonetic compound: the wood radical 木 indicates the original meaning—a wooden spear or staff—while 仓 supplies the sound. It first referred to spears and later extended to firearms (guns, rifles) once such weapons appeared, keeping the same character.