克制
kè zhì · HSK 7
self-control
✋ 克 overcome + 制 control = overcoming your own urges, i.e. self-control
克 means to overcome or conquer; 制 means to control or curb. Together they name the act of conquering your own impulses, which is exactly restraint or self-control. Note 克 also means gram, but here it is the conquer sense.
克 — top 十 + brother 兄 (helmeted figure)
Originally a pictograph of a person bearing a heavy helmet or burden on the head, suggesting the strength needed to carry or subdue a load. From 'to bear a weight' it extended to 'overcome, conquer, subdue,' and later 'to be able to.' The modern shape blends 十 above 兄.
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.