动机
dòngjī · HSK 5
reason
⚙️ 动机 = move (动) + machine (机); the engine that moves you to act
动 means move/motion and 机 means machine or mechanism. Together they name the inner machinery that gets you moving — your motive or motivation. Same 机 as in 飞机 (airplane) and 机器 (machine).
动 — force 力 + heavy/重 (simplified from 動)
The traditional form 動 combines 重 (heavy) as the phonetic with 力 (force/strength) as the semantic, suggesting the effort needed to move something heavy. The simplified form 动 replaces 重 with 云, keeping 力 to convey action and motion.