瓦 wǎ tile
tile; earthenware; roof tile
How it came to be
Two curved roof tiles drawn hooked into each other, the way they overlap on a roof. The overlap is the drawing: a single tile would not have shown what it was.
How it is used
- A roof tile / earthenware - 瓦片 (wǎpiàn) roof tiles, 砖瓦 (zhuānwǎ) bricks and tiles.
- 瓦解 (wǎjiě) means to disintegrate/collapse (an organization, an army): 土崩瓦解 (tǔbēng-wǎjiě) to fall apart completely. Also the loanword unit 瓦 (wǎ) = watt.