气候
qìhòu · HSK 3
climate
🌤️ 气 = air/qi + 候 = season/wait; literally air-season = climate
气 means air or vital energy; 候 means season or to wait. Together they describe the long-term pattern of air and seasons in a place — climate. Compare 天气 (sky-air = weather), which is the short-term version.
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.