TSUMUGU · TOCFL 3 (est.) · 字
汽
汽 ＝ 氵 ＋ 气
ㄑㄧˋ · qì
noun — steam, vapor; (in compounds) gasoline, automobile
字源 FORM — what the parts do
氵義water
气聲qì — gives the soundstreaks of rising breath; the bare 气, before 氣 took the rice
Water (氵) plus 气, the rising-breath streaks that also lend the sound. Water turned to drifting air: steam. The same 气 fills 氣 once it takes the rice (米) for grain-breath; 汽 keeps it for water-breath. From vapor, the modern compounds: 汽車、汽油.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
一鍋水（氵）燒開，白氣（气）一縷縷往上飄。
A pot of water (氵) on the boil; ribbons of steam (气) lift and drift away.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)蒸汽、水汽— steam; vapor常用
→汽車、汽油— automobile; gasoline常用
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension
關 · Related
氣＝ ＋ 米qìthe same donor — 氣 adds rice 米 for breath/air, 汽 adds water for steam气qìthe bare phonetic — the breath-streaks alone