Origin

The character 薪 combines a grass radical at the top with 新 (which sounds like "shin") at the bottom. The grass radical classifies this as a plant-related word, pointing toward the meaning of dried vegetation used as fuel. The 新 component provides a sound hint for pronunciation rather than contributing a separate meaning. Together, the shape represents something plant-based that is dry and ready to burn, which is exactly what firewood is.

AI-generated (claude-haiku-4-5), not yet reviewed. Formation type (automated guess): Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint).