熔 (róng): to smelt; to fuse; to melt (met…

Meanings

1 to smelt; to fuse; to melt (metals)

Characters

熔

róng

to smelt; to fuse

Examples

这种金属需要在高温下才能熔化。

Zhèzhǒng jīnshǔ xūyào zài gāowēn xià cáinéng rónghuà.

This metal can only be melted at high temperatures.

工人把废铁熔成钢。

Gōngrén bǎ fèitiě róng chéng gāng.

The workers smelted scrap iron into steel.

Tips

mistakes

熔 (róng) vs 融 (róng) vs 溶 (róng) — all pronounced the same but different: 熔 = melt metals with heat (smelting), 融 = thaw/blend (ice melting, cultural fusion), 溶 = dissolve in liquid (sugar in water).

Components

radical

火 huǒ

fire

Left fire radical — pictograph of a flame with rising sparks. Indexes 熔 in the heat family with 烧 to burn, 烤 to roast, 烫 scalding. 熔 means to melt — to liquefy metal or wax in heat — so the fire radical names the agent doing the work. Compare bottom-form 灬 in 热, 煮.

phonetic

容 róng

to contain; appearance

Right side 容 supplies the sound róng without shift, and adds quiet semantic flavour: 容 means 'to hold, to contain,' and molten metal is poured into a mould that holds it until it cools. Same phonetic in 溶 to dissolve (in water) and 蓉 hibiscus — a tight róng family.