氮 (dàn): nitrogen (N)

Meanings

1 nitrogen (N)

Characters

氮

dàn

nitrogen

Examples

空气中大约百分之七十八是氮。

Kōngqì zhōng dàyuē bǎifēnzhī qīshí bā shì dàn.

About 78% of the air is nitrogen.

植物的生长需要氮肥。

Zhíwù de shēngzhǎng xūyào dàn féi.

Plant growth requires nitrogen fertilizer.

Tips

memory

The 气 radical indicates it's a gas. The 炎 (flame) phonetic component hints at the pronunciation dàn. Many chemical elements for gases use the 气 radical: 氧 (oxygen), 氢 (hydrogen), 氦 (helium).

Components

radical

气 qì

gas; air; vapour

The gas radical 气 wraps the upper-right — its three top strokes suggest rising vapour. It is the standard radical for chemical gases in modern Chinese: 氢 hydrogen, 氧 oxygen, 氟 fluorine, 氯 chlorine. Every gas in the periodic table carries this enclosing radical.

phonetic

炎 yán

flame; inflammation (here phonetic)

炎 supplies the sound — yán shifting to dàn, an irregular drift. Its picture of fire-over-fire has nothing to do with nitrogen; the choice was purely phonetic. The same pattern repeats across the gas family: a phonetic core slotted under 气.