bottle, vial, jar, jug, vat, urn
瓶 centers on a container for holding liquids or other substances: a bottle, jar, jug, vial, vat, or urn. The common thread is a vessel with a defined shape used for storage or transport.
瓶 combines 并 (originally representing two people side by side, suggesting pairing or combining) with 瓦 (earthenware), indicating a paired or symmetrical earthenware vessel. The modern form retains this structure, though the exact historical development of 并 as a phonetic or semantic component is uncertain.
The left side 并 looks like two matching halves joined together, and the right side 瓦 means earthenware. Picture a symmetrical clay bottle formed by joining two halves: 瓶 is a bottle or jar.
For ビン, imagine a bottle that goes 'bin' when you tap it: bin -> ビン, and the sound echoes inside the clay vessel.
bottle; jar; decanter; flagon; phial; vial
(flower) vase
Molotov cocktail; petrol bomb; gasoline bomb
glass bottle; glass jar; phial; vial
bottling
small bottle
thermos bottle; vacuum flask
Aquarius (constellation); the Water Carrier; the Water Bearer
one-shō bottle (approx. 1.8 litres)
beer bottle
bottled beer; bottle beer
water jug
large earthenware pot
large bottle
iron kettle
urine bottle; (urinary) bedpan; chamber pot (esp. medical); urinal
earthenware teapot
bottle of ink; ink bottle
gallon bottle; three litre glass bottle used for pharmaceuticals
Dewar vessel