碱 (jiǎn) · base; alkali

Meanings

1 base; alkali
2 soda

Characters

碱

jiǎn

alkali; base

Examples

HSK 5

碱和酸发生中和反应。

Jiǎn hé suān fāshēng zhōnghé fǎnyìng.

A base and an acid undergo a neutralization reaction.

HSK 6

这块土地碱性太强，不适合种庄稼。

Zhè kuài tǔdì jiǎnxìng tài qiáng, bù shìhé zhòng zhuāngjia.

This land is too alkaline and not suitable for growing crops.

Tips

usage

碱 is the opposite of 酸 (acid) in chemistry. Common compounds: 碱性 (alkaline), 烧碱 (caustic soda/NaOH), 纯碱 (soda ash/Na2CO3).

Components

radical

石 shí

stone; rock

石 is the indexing stone radical, originally a cliff with a rock fragment beneath. It places 碱 (alkali) in the mineral-substance family alongside 矿 (ore), 砂 (sand), 硫 (sulphur), 碳 (carbon) - fitting because alkali was historically extracted from soda ash and natron mineral deposits.

phonetic

咸 xián

salty; all

咸 on the right supplies the sound - initial drifted from x- to j-, rhyme group preserved. Beautifully, 咸 also means salty and the same phonetic drives 减 (reduce) - a triple link of sound, taste, and minerality fitting for a word about alkaline salts.