Chinese Radicals (4) Four Drops - 四点水

The Four Drops radical is four dots on the bottom of a character.

Four Drops radical is from

1, the part of animal

Let us see character of Fish

From left to right: shell bone, small seal, and clerical script.

We see that the clerical script of Fish has four dots on the bottom,

is called Four Drops radical, which is from the tail of the fish.

Let us see character of Horse

From left to right: shell bone, small seal, and clerical script. 

The clerical script has four dots, which are from the legs of horse.

Let us see the character of Bird

similarly, the four dots in the clerical script are from the claws of the bird.

2, Fire

Let us see the character of Burnt

From the left to right: shell bone, small seal, and clerical script

The top is a bird, and the bottom is Fire, which becomes to four dots in clerical script.

Let us see character of Black

From left to right: big seal, small seal, and clerical. The top ones are faces with black dots, and the bottom are Fire. In clerical script, the Fire is four dots. 

Conclusion:

The four dots are either the tail or legs of animal in the first group, or the Fire in the second group. 

However, in the simplified characters of Fish, Horse, and Bird, the Four Drops become one line

The Four Drops radicals from the Fire keep in four dots.