Radical 灬

12 strokes

dog food (266b) + fire 灬 (185a) = however 然

This character also means “correct”; “but”; “so”; “this”; “-ly”, depending on the context.

然后 (150) ránhòu after, and then

[自然 (94) zìrán nature; natural]

[必然 (162) bìrán inevitable, bound to]

[不然 (9) bùrán or, otherwise]

The dog food has gone bad so they throw it on the fire— however, the fire then goes out. / The fairy can’t bear the rancid smell (so conjures the fire into life again).

You may recall that this is a distorted form of 月, “moon” (Character 61).

moon (266a) + dog 犬 (238a) = dog food

During the fasting season even the dog has to wait until the moon is up, before he can have his dog food. / [No pronunciation needed]