下班
xiàbān · HSK 1
get off
🏃 下 = down/off + 班 = shift/work; literally 'off shift'
下 means down or off, and 班 means a work shift or class. Together 下班 is 'off shift' — the end of the workday. Pairs with 上班 (shàngbān, 'on shift' = go to work).
下 — horizontal line 一 + mark below
下 is an indicative character: a long horizontal line represents a reference level, and a shorter stroke placed beneath it points to the area below. The original meaning 'below, down' comes directly from this spatial diagram, and it later extended to verbs like 'descend' and 'lower'.
班 — two jade 玨 + knife 刂 in the middle
班 originally depicted a knife (刂) dividing a pair of jade pieces (玨), showing the act of splitting jade between people. From this 'dividing' sense it came to mean 'distribute,' then 'a group formed by division,' giving modern meanings like class, team, or shift.