针灸
zhēn jiǔ · HSK 7
acupuncture and moxibustion
🪡🔥 针灸 = 针 needle + 灸 moxa-burn (久 long-time over 火 fire)
针 is a needle (note the 钅metal radical); 灸 stacks 久 long-time over 火 fire, the slow burning of moxa herb on the skin. Together they name the two classic treatments: needling plus heat.
针 — metal radical 钅 + 十 (ten, phonetic)
针 means 'needle.' The metal radical 钅 (simplified from 金) shows the needle is made of metal, while 十 originally hinted at the sound. The traditional form 針 uses 咸-like phonetic 咸→ actually 十 served as a simplified phonetic. Over time it came to mean needle, pin, or injection.