煤气
méi qì · HSK 5
gas
🔥 煤气 = coal + gas (qì = breath/vapor)
Decomposition: 煤 méi means coal, 气 qì means gas/vapor/breath. Together they name the fuel gas piped to stoves — literally coal-gas. The 气 character shows up in many gas/air words like 空气 (air) and 氧气 (oxygen).
煤 — fire radical 火 + 某 (méi, phonetic)
煤 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The fire radical 火 signals the meaning (something that burns), while 某 supplies the sound 'méi'. Originally referring to soot or charcoal residue, the character later came to mean coal once that fuel became widely used.
气 — steam/vapor radical 气
Originally a pictograph of rising vapor or clouds drifting in the sky, depicting curling streams of air. The character came to mean breath, air, and by extension vital energy or 'qi.' The simplified form 气 keeps the original outline; the traditional 氣 added 米 (rice) to suggest steam rising from cooking grain.