体制
tǐzhì · HSK 7
system of organization
🏛️ 体制 = 体 body + 制 to regulate = the regulating body, i.e. a system or framework
Both characters carry institutional weight: 体 (tǐ) is body or structure, 制 (zhì) means to control or regulate, as in 制度. Together they name the organized framework of an institution. Tone trick: tǐ falls then rises, zhì drops sharply.
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.