氧气
yǎngqì · HSK 6
oxygen
🫁 yǎng = nourish + qì = gas — the gas that nourishes life
氧 combines 气 (gas) with 羊 (sheep, here a sound hint for yǎng meaning 'nourish/sustain'). Oxygen is literally the 'nourishing gas' — the one your lungs need to keep you alive.
氧 — gas radical 气 + sheep 羊 (phonetic)
氧 is a modern semantic-phonetic compound coined in the 19th century to name the element oxygen. The 气 radical signals 'gas/vapor,' while 羊 (yáng) supplies the sound. It is not an ancient pictograph but part of a systematic set of element names like 氢 (hydrogen) and 氮 (nitrogen).
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.