On 05/23/2011 10:33 AM, Milos Rancic wrote:
This method is still sometimes used to form new characters, for example 钚 bù "plutonium") is the metal radical 金 jīn plus the phonetic component 不 bù, described in Chinese as "不 gives sound, 金 gives meaning". Many Chinese names of elements in the periodic table and many other chemistry-related characters were formed this way.
BTW, I am really amazed by the fact that "bu" means "plutonium" :)