判断
pànduàn · HSK 3
judge
⚖️ 判 = half (semantic split) + 刀 knife; 断 = cut/sever — judge by cutting apart
判 pairs 半 (half) with 刂 (knife), the act of splitting to decide. 断 shows severing threads with an axe. Together: to judge or determine is to cleanly cut a matter into resolved halves.
判 — half 半 (phonetic) + knife 刂 (semantic)
判 combines 半 'half' with 刂 'knife', literally suggesting cutting something in two. The knife radical gives the meaning of dividing or judging, while 半 provides the sound. From 'splitting apart' it extended to 'discriminate, judge, decide'.
断 — thread 㡭 (silk bundle) + axe 斤
Originally written with 㡭 (entangled silk threads) on the left and 斤 (axe) on the right, depicting an axe cutting through bundled threads. From this concrete image of severing came the meanings 'to cut off,' 'to break,' and by extension 'to decide' or 'judge'—as in resolving a matter decisively.