火星
かせい · kasei · JLPT N1 · noun
Mars
🔴 火 (fire) + 星 (star): the fire-star, the red planet, named for its glowing red color
Ancient Chinese astronomers linked Mars to fire (火, huǒ), the Five Elements planet. It is also called the red star, so 火星 reads as fire plus star.
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.