再度
zàidù · HSK 7
once again
🔁 再度 = 再 (again) + 度 (a time/occurrence) = one more time around
再 carries the again-and-again sense (as in 再见, see-again); 度 counts occurrences like a tally of times. Stacked, they mean a second go, anew. Sounds like zài-dù: a dose taken once more.
再 — top 一 + 冂 frame + 土-like inner strokes
再 originally depicted a stack of fish or piled objects, suggesting accumulation or repetition. Over time it came to mean 'again' or 'once more,' emphasizing a second occurrence of an action. The modern form is stylized and no longer clearly pictographic.
度 — 广 (shelter) + 庶 abbreviated (phonetic)
Originally depicted a hand measuring length under a shelter, meaning 'to measure' or 'a measure/standard.' From this came extended senses like 'degree,' 'extent,' and 'to pass through' (as in passing time). The reading 'dù' means degree/measure, while 'duó' preserves the older verbal sense of measuring.