能耗
nénghào · HSK 7
Energy consumption
🔋 能耗 = 能 energy + 耗 consume: how much energy gets used up
能 (néng) means energy or ability; 耗 (hào) means to consume or expend. Stuck together they name the energy a device or process burns through. Note the reading is hào, not the more common háo.
能 — 厶 (head) + 月 (body/flesh) + 匕匕 (legs)
Originally a pictograph of a bear, showing its head, body, and powerful legs. Because bears were seen as strong and capable, the character was borrowed to mean 'ability' or 'can'. A new character 熊 (with the fire radical 灬) was later created for 'bear'.
耗 — 耒 plow + 毛 hair/fur
Originally written with 耒 (plow) as the semantic component and 毛 (hair) as the phonetic, suggesting the wearing down or consumption of farming tools through use. The meaning extended from depleting resources to the broader senses of 'consume,' 'waste,' and 'news/tidings' (as in 噩耗).