电饭锅
diàn fàn guō · HSK 5
electric rice cooker
🍚 电饭锅 = electric + rice + pot
Three-part compound: 电 (electricity) + 饭 (cooked rice) + 锅 (pot/wok). The same 锅 shows up in 火锅 (hot pot) and 高压锅 (pressure cooker).
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.
饭 — food radical 飠/饣 + 反 fǎn (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The left side 饣 (simplified from 飠, 'eat/food') gives the meaning, while 反 on the right hints at the sound. Originally referring to cooked grain, it broadened to mean cooked rice and, by extension, a meal in general.
锅 — metal radical 钅 + 呙 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The metal radical 钅 (金) signals the meaning — a metal cooking vessel, i.e. a pot or wok. The right-hand component 呙 (guō/wāi) supplies the sound. Originally written 鍋 in traditional script, simplified to 锅 in modern mainland use.