烯 (xī): alkene; olefin (chemistry)

Meanings

聚乙烯是一种很常见的塑料。

Jùyǐxī shì yì zhǒng hěn chángjiàn de sùliào.

Polyethylene is a very common plastic.

乙烯是重要的工业原料。

Yǐxī shì zhòngyào de gōngyè yuánliào.

Ethylene is an important raw material in industry.

usage

烯 is a chemistry term for alkenes (hydrocarbons with a double bond). You'll see it in 乙烯 (ethylene), 聚乙烯 (polyethylene), and 丙烯 (propylene).

radical

火 huǒ

fire

The fire radical 火 is used for many flammable chemical-substance characters; here it marks 烯 as a combustible hydrocarbon.

phonetic

希 xī

to hope; rare

希 supplies the sound xī exactly; it was chosen purely for sound when this modern chemistry character was coined.

烯 xī