共计
gòng jì · HSK 5
to total
➕ 共 (together) + 计 (count/calculate) = total count
共 means together/shared; 计 means to count or calculate. Combined, 共计 literally reads as together-count, i.e. to tally everything up into a grand total.
共 — 两手 (廾) holding up an object
共 originally depicted two hands raised together, lifting or offering something jointly. The ancient form showed a vessel or object held up by paired hands, conveying shared action. From 'lifting together' it shifted to mean 'together,' 'common,' or 'share.'
计 — speech radical 讠 (言) + ten 十
计 is a semantic compound: 言 'speech/words' plus 十 'ten', suggesting counting or reckoning aloud. The original sense was to calculate or tally numbers, which extended to 'plan, scheme, plot' — any kind of mental reckoning. Modern uses like 计算 (calculate) and 计划 (plan) preserve both threads.