气体
qìtǐ · HSK 5
gas
💨 气 = air/gas + 体 = body/substance, so gas-substance = gas
气 means air or vapor (the same 气 in 天气 weather), and 体 means body or physical form (as in 身体). Together they name the gaseous state of matter — literally air-body.
气 — steam/vapor radical 气
Originally a pictograph of rising vapor or clouds drifting in the sky, depicting curling streams of air. The character came to mean breath, air, and by extension vital energy or 'qi.' The simplified form 气 keeps the original outline; the traditional 氣 added 米 (rice) to suggest steam rising from cooking grain.