包装
bāozhuāng · HSK 5
package
📦 包 wrap + 装 load = wrap-and-load = packaging
包 means to wrap or bundle, and 装 means to load, install, or pack. Together 包装 is the wrap-and-load act of packaging — the wrapping plus the loading that turns a product into a shippable package.
包 — 勹 wrap + 巳 fetus
包 is a pictograph showing a fetus (巳) wrapped inside a womb (勹, an enclosing shape). The original sense was 'to wrap' or 'enclose,' and it later extended to mean a bundle, package, or bag. It also serves as a phonetic component in many characters like 抱, 泡, and 饱.
装 — clothes 衣 + strong 壮 (phonetic)
装 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The bottom 衣 ('clothes') gives the meaning, since the original sense was packing or dressing—putting clothes or goods into a bundle. The top 壮 supplies the sound. Meanings extended from 'to dress/attire' to 'to load, install, pretend'.