水壶
shuǐ hú · HSK 7
kettle
🫖 水壶 = 水 (water) + 壶 (pot/jug) = a pot for water: kettle or canteen
The first character 水 means water; the second 壶 is a pot, jug, or flask. Put together they name a vessel for holding water — a kettle, canteen, or watering can. shuǐ hú.
水 — pictograph of flowing water
水 is a pictograph depicting a stream of flowing water, with the central line representing the main current and the side strokes showing splashing droplets or ripples. In oracle bone script it was drawn even more clearly as a wavy vertical line with branches. It retains its original meaning of 'water' and also serves as a radical, often appearing in the compressed form 氵.
壶 — lid 士 + body 冖 + belly 业 + base 一
壶 is a pictograph of an ancient pot or kettle, showing a lid on top, a rounded body, and a flat base. The traditional form 壺 preserves this shape more clearly. It originally depicted ritual wine or water vessels and now means pot, kettle, or jug.