电网
diàn wǎng · HSK 7
electrical network
⚡🕸️ 电网 = electricity + net — a web that carries power
电 (electricity) plus 网 (net/network) gives you the grid of wires and stations that distributes power across a region. Think of it as the electrical web connecting every outlet to the power plant.
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.
网 — net radical 冂 + 亡 (phonetic)
網 (simplified 网) originally pictured a hunting or fishing net, with crossed mesh lines inside a frame. The modern simplified form 网 keeps that net shape directly. The traditional 網 adds 糸 (silk thread) for the material and 亡 as a phonetic hint for the wǎng sound.