电灯
diàn dēng · HSK 4
light
💡 电灯 = 电 (electric) + 灯 (lamp)
电 means electricity (same 电 as in 电话 telephone, 电脑 computer). 灯 means lamp or light. Together: an electric lamp — the standard word for a lightbulb or electric light fixture.
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.
灯 — fire radical 火 + ding 丁 (phonetic)
灯 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 火 'fire' gives the meaning (lamps once burned oil or flame), while 丁 hints at the sound. It is the simplified form of the traditional 燈, which used 登 as the phonetic. Today it means 'lamp' or 'light'.