关税
guān shuì · HSK 7
customs duty
🛃 关 (border pass/gate) + 税 (tax) = the tax charged at the customs gate
关 means a frontier pass or gate, 税 means tax. A 关税 is literally the tax levied on goods as they cross the border gate, i.e. a customs duty or tariff.
关 — door 门 + simplified 关 inside
关 is the simplified form of 關. The traditional character showed a gate (門) with a bolt or crossbar inside, depicting a barred door — hence 'to close' or 'shut'. Meaning later extended to 'pass' (a guarded gate), 'barrier', and figuratively 'concern' or 'connection'.
税 — grain radical 禾 + 兑 (exchange/phonetic)
税 combines 禾 (grain) with 兑 (exchange), which also hints at the sound. In ancient China taxes were paid in grain, so the character originally meant a levy of harvest given to the state. Its meaning later broadened to taxes and duties of any kind.