内阁
nèigé · HSK 7
cabinet
🏛️ 内 inner + 阁 chamber = the inner chamber where ministers govern
内 means inner or inside; 阁 is a pavilion or chamber. Together the inner chamber names the group of senior ministers, the cabinet. Sound: nèigé, with the falling-then-rising shape of 内 dropping into 阁.
内 — enclosure 冂 + enter 入
内 originally depicted something entering (入) into an enclosed space (冂), giving the core sense of 'inside' or 'within'. The pictographic image of going into a covered area extended naturally to meanings like inner, internal, and inland. It contrasts with 外 ('outside').