汽 is a Chinese character with HSK 3 on the new exam.
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
汽 does not appear in oracle bone script and is a later phono-semantic compound. It combines the water radical 氵(水) on the left as the semantic element with 气 (vapor, breath) on the right as both phonetic and semantic hint. The character was coined to specify the water-based sense of vapor, distinguishing liquid-origin steam from general qi.
Form evolution
Because 汽 is post-oracle, the earliest attested forms are in seal script, where 氵appears as three curling water droplets and 气 as three wavy horizontal strokes depicting rising air. Clerical script straightened the water strokes into the modern three-dot form 氵 and flattened 气 into a boxier shape. Modern kaishu preserves this structure with no simplification difference between traditional and simplified.
How the meaning evolved
The original sense was specifically water vapor or steam, narrower than 气 which covered breath, mood, and cosmic energy. In the 19th and 20th centuries 汽 was pressed into service to translate Western industrial vocabulary, giving 汽车 (steam-then-gasoline car), 汽水 (soda water), and 汽油 (gasoline). Today it primarily signals mechanical or carbonated contexts rather than natural mist.
Cultural note
Learners often confuse 汽 and 气 because both can feel like vapor, but 汽 always implies water or liquid origin while 气 is abstract or gaseous. A useful anchor is 汽车 versus 气球: the car runs on liquid-derived fuel, the balloon holds air.
Basic info
Example sentences
Words containing 汽
On the new HSK 3 exam
Studying for HSK 3? Keep 汽 with the rest of your level.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.