代表团
dàibiǎotuán · HSK 3
contingent
👥🚩 代 (represent) + 表 (express) + 团 (group) = representation group
代 means to represent or substitute, 表 means to express or display outwardly, and 团 means a group or troupe. Together: a group that represents others — a delegation or deputation sent on a mission.
代 — person radical 亻 + 弋 (stake/dart, phonetic)
代 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 亻 (person) gives the meaning and 弋 supplies the sound. The original sense was one person taking the place of another, which broadened to 'substitute,' 'replace,' and then 'generation' or 'era' — successive groups of people replacing the previous.
表 — fur 毛 on top + garment 衣 below
Originally depicted an outer fur garment, with 毛 (fur) above 衣 (clothing), showing the hairy outside of a coat. From 'outer garment' it extended to mean 'outside, surface,' then 'to show, express, display,' and later 'table, chart' as something laid out on the surface.
团 — enclosure 囗 + 才 (phonetic/abbreviated 專)
Originally written 團, showing an enclosure 囗 around 專 (a spindle) suggesting something wound into a round shape. The character came to mean 'round,' 'lump,' or 'group.' The simplified form 团 keeps the enclosure 囗 but replaces the inner element with 才 for ease of writing.