花火
はなび · hanabi · JLPT N2 · noun
firework
🎆 hana = flower, bi = fire: flowers of fire that burst into the night sky
花 (hana) means flower and 火 (hi, here bi) means fire. Fireworks are literally fire-flowers blooming across the night sky.
花 — grass radical 艹 + 化 (change/phonetic)
花 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The top 艹 (grass) signals the plant meaning, while 化 ('change, transform') gives the sound and hints at how buds change into blossoms. It originally meant 'flower' or 'blossom' and later extended to 'flowery, patterned, to spend.'
火 — pictograph of flames rising
火 is a pictograph showing flames rising upward from a fire, with the central stroke as the main blaze and the side strokes as sparks. The ancient oracle bone form looked even more clearly like a burning flame. It still means 'fire' today and serves as a common radical in characters related to heat, burning, or cooking.