hài
noun #18,570

Meanings

  1. 1 helium (He)

Examples

Qìqiú lǐ chōng de shì hàiqì.
The balloon is filled with helium.
Hài shì yī zhǒng duòxìng qìtǐ.
Helium is a noble gas.

Tips

memory
(gas radical) + (phonetic component, hài) — a gas element pronounced 'hài.' The radical tells you it's a gas.

Components

radical
gas; air
wraps the upper-right corner — the gas radical that systematically marks chemical elements that exist as gases. The family includes , every modern Chinese gas element name.
phonetic
hài
12th Earthly Branch
supplies the sound hài directly — chosen to approximate the he- of helium. This follows the standard chemistry-coining pattern: gas radical plus a phonetic that echoes the element's international name.

Stroke Order

hài