灌溉
guàngài · HSK 7
irrigate
💧🌾 guàngài sounds like GWAHN-guy watering the fields; both halves carry the water radical 氵
灌 — water 氵 + 雚 (heron/phonetic)
灌 combines the water radical 氵 with 雚, which depicts a crested heron and supplies the sound 'guàn'. The water component points to the meaning 'to pour' or 'to irrigate', while 雚 is purely phonetic. Originally referring to flooding fields, it broadened to mean pouring liquid, irrigating, or filling something up.