火柴
huǒ chái · HSK 5
match
🔥🪵 火柴 = fire + firewood/stick
火 means fire; 柴 means firewood or kindling sticks. A match is literally a fire-stick. The 柴 component also shows up in 木柴 (firewood).
火 — pictograph of flames rising
火 is a pictograph showing flames rising upward from a fire, with the central stroke as the main blaze and the side strokes as sparks. The ancient oracle bone form looked even more clearly like a burning flame. It still means 'fire' today and serves as a common radical in characters related to heat, burning, or cooking.