电动
diàndòng · HSK 6
electric
⚡ 电 (electric) + 动 (move) = electric-powered, motorized
电 means electricity and 动 means to move or act. Together 电动 literally reads as electric-move, used as a modifier for anything powered by electricity: 电动车 e-bike, 电动牙刷 electric toothbrush.
电 — rain 雨 + lightning tail 电
Originally a pictograph of lightning streaking from a cloud, written 電 with the rain radical 雨 on top. The bottom 电 depicts the zigzag flash itself. The simplified form 电 drops 雨 and keeps just the lightning shape. Meaning extended from 'lightning' to 'electricity' in modern usage.
动 — force 力 + heavy/重 (simplified from 動)
The traditional form 動 combines 重 (heavy) as the phonetic with 力 (force/strength) as the semantic, suggesting the effort needed to move something heavy. The simplified form 动 replaces 重 with 云, keeping 力 to convey action and motion.