漆
qī · HSK 7
paint
🎨 water radical 氵 + 桼 (tree sap) = the liquid lacquer you paint on
漆 qī is the sap of the lacquer tree, so it carries the water/liquid radical 氵 on the left. The right side 桼 already meant the sticky tree resin; adding water gives the wet paint sense. Sound: qī rhymes with the ee in tree.
漆 — water 氵 + tree 木 + person 人 + drops 水
漆 originally depicted sap dripping from a lacquer tree (the 桼 component shows a tree with liquid oozing out), with the water radical 氵 added later to emphasize its liquid nature. It refers to the resin of the lacquer tree, used as a varnish, and by extension means 'lacquer' or the color black.