消防
xiāofáng · HSK 5
fight/prevent fire
🚒 消 = extinguish + 防 = guard/prevent; together: fire prevention
消 (xiāo) means to extinguish or dissolve; 防 (fáng) means to guard against or prevent. The compound names the discipline of stopping fires — both putting them out and keeping them from starting. 消防车 is a fire truck.
消 — water 氵 + 肖 (phonetic)
消 is a semantic-phonetic compound: the water radical 氵 indicates the meaning, while 肖 (xiào) supplies the sound. It originally described water dwindling or melting away, and from there extended to the modern senses of vanishing, dissolving, and dispelling.
防 — mound radical 阝(阜) + 方 fāng (phonetic)
防 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left element 阝 (from 阜) depicts a mound or earthen embankment, suggesting barriers and defense. The right element 方 supplies the sound. Together they evoke a dike or rampart that guards against floods or attacks, hence 'to guard, prevent, defend'.