懂中文 Dong Chinese

電

diàn

electricity

Original meaning: 

lightning

Depicts lightning (申) during a rainstorm (雨).

Components
雨 meaning component

雨  Meaning component

yǔ, yù

  

rain

申 sound,iconic component

申  Sound Iconic component

shēn

  

to extend

Depicts lightning.

Evolution

電 Bronze script Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Bronze script

Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)
電 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
電 Clerical script Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
電 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

电 (電) 

diàn

electricity, electric; lightning; electricity; electric (bound form); to get (or give) an electric shock; phone call or telegram etc; to send via telephone or telegram etc

Most common words with 電
Freq.
Word
Meaning

电话

telephone

打电话

to make a telephone call

电影

movie

电

electric

电视

TV