原则
yuánzé · HSK 4
principle
📏 原 = source/origin + 则 = rule → the source rule = principle
原 means origin or source; 则 means rule, norm, or standard. Together they name the root rule something follows — a principle. Note: the meaning gloss lists god/formula/regulation, but 原则 specifically denotes principle or tenet.
原 — cliff 厂 + spring 泉 (white 白 + water 水)
Originally a pictograph showing a spring of water flowing out from beneath a cliff, depicting the source of a stream. From this concrete image of a water source, the meaning extended to 'origin,' 'source,' and 'original.' A separate character 源 was later created with the water radical 氵 to keep the literal 'spring' sense.
则 — knife 刂 + shell/money 貝 (simplified to 贝)
则 originally showed a knife (刂) beside a tripod cauldron (鼎), later simplified to 贝. It depicted inscribing laws or rules onto bronze vessels with a knife. From this came the meanings 'rule, standard, regulation,' and by extension the conjunction 'then' indicating a logical consequence.