steam

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 汽 has 7 strokes and appears in words associated with steam.
• Basic usage: 汽車 is read きしゃ, and 汽笛 is read きてき.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• A train and its sound
  • 黒い煙を上げる汽車 is a train emitting black smoke.
  • 汽笛 denotes a whistle or horn.
• Used for ships too
  • Both 列車の汽笛 and 船の汽笛 occur, so 汽笛 should not always be translated as a ship's horn.