专制
zhuān zhì · HSK 7
autocracy
👑 专 sole/exclusive + 制 control = one ruler holds all control
专 means sole or exclusive, 制 means to control or a system. Together: power held exclusively by one, i.e. autocracy. The first syllable zhuān sounds like the start of -joan- but with a -dzh- onset.
制 — knife 刂 + 未 (tree branches)
Originally depicted a knife 刂 cutting branches from a tree, showing the act of trimming or shaping wood. From this concrete sense of cutting to size came the meanings 'to make,' 'to manufacture,' and by extension 'to control' or 'regulate' — shaping things to a desired form.