元首
yuán shoǔ · HSK 7
state
👑 元 (chief, primary) + 首 (head) = the chief head = head of state
元 carries the sense of first or primary, and 首 literally means head. Stack them and you get the primary head of a nation. 首 also shows up in 首都 (capital) and 首先 (first of all).
元 — 二 (two) + 兒 variant 儿 (legs/person)
元 originally depicted a person with the head emphasized on top, meaning 'head' or 'origin'. From this came the extended senses of 'first', 'beginning', and 'primary'. It was later borrowed as the name of the Yuan dynasty and the modern Chinese currency unit.
首 — hair 丷 over face 自 (eye + nose)
首 is a pictograph of a head, originally drawn with hair on top and a face below (containing the eye element 目). It meant 'head' literally, then extended to 'chief, leader, first' since the head is the topmost and foremost part of the body.