制裁
zhìcái · HSK 7
sanction
⚖️ 制 control + 裁 to cut/judge = controlling judgment that cuts down wrongdoers: a sanction
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.
裁 — 戈 (halberd) + 𢦏 (phonetic, to cut)
裁 originally depicted cutting cloth with a blade, combining 衣 (clothing, embedded in the character) with 𢦏 as the phonetic component suggesting cutting. The core meaning 'to cut cloth' extended to tailoring, then broadly to 'judge, decide, reduce' — as in deciding by cutting away. Modern uses include 裁判 (judge) and 裁缝 (tailor).