制约
zhì yuē · HSK 5
to restrict
⛓️ 制约 = 制 (control) + 约 (bind/restrict)
制 means to control or regulate; 约 means to bind, restrain, or make a pact. Together they describe one thing limiting or conditioning another — a mutual binding that restricts what each side can do.
制 — knife 刂 + 未 (tree branches)
Originally depicted a knife 刂 cutting branches from a tree, showing the act of trimming or shaping wood. From this concrete sense of cutting to size came the meanings 'to make,' 'to manufacture,' and by extension 'to control' or 'regulate' — shaping things to a desired form.
约 — silk radical 糹/纟 + ladle 勺
约 combines the silk radical 糹 with 勺 (ladle), which provides the sound. Originally it referred to binding or tying with silk cords, from which came the meanings 'to bind by agreement,' hence 'pact, appointment,' and later 'approximately' (a loose, tied-up estimate).