爆炸
bàozhà · HSK 6
explosion
💥 爆 = explode/burst + 炸 = blast/deep-fry; both halves mean boom
爆 carries the fire radical 火 (literal blast), and 炸 also has 火 plus 乍 (suddenly). Two fire-radical chars stacked together intensify the meaning into a full-on explosion.
爆 — fire 火 + 暴 (violent/sudden, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 火 (fire) gives the meaning, while 暴 (sudden, violent) supplies the sound and reinforces the sense. Originally meant to burst or explode with fire, later extended to any sudden, forceful eruption like popping or bursting.
炸 — fire radical 火 + 乍
A semantic-phonetic compound: the fire radical 火 gives the meaning (cooking with hot oil or sudden bursting by heat), while 乍 (zhà) supplies the sound. Originally meant 'to burst' or 'explode'; the cooking sense 'to deep-fry' developed from the idea of food bursting in hot oil.