乐器
yuèqì · HSK 7
musical instrument
🎷🎸 乐器 = 乐 (music) + 器 (tool/vessel) = a tool for making music
乐 means music or joy; 器 means tool, vessel, or implement. Stack them and you get the implement that produces music. The yuèqì sound starts with the same yuè as 音乐 yīnyuè, music.
乐 — stylized depiction of a wooden instrument with strings
Originally a pictograph of a wooden frame holding strings or bells, representing a musical instrument. The character first meant 'music' (read yuè), and by extension came to mean 'joy, happiness' (read lè), since music brings pleasure. The simplified form 乐 streamlines the older 樂.