谈
tán · HSK 3
talk
💬 谈 = 言 (speech) + 炎 (flame); hot words = lively talk
The 言 radical marks speech-related characters. 炎 (flame) doubles 火 for heat and also lends the 'tán' sound. Together: heated speech, i.e. chatting or discussing.
谈 — speech radical 讠 + flame 炎
谈 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left side 讠 (speech) gives the meaning, indicating something said or discussed. The right side 炎 (flame, blaze) originally suggested the phonetic value and evokes lively, animated talk — like words flowing in conversation.