取缔
qǔdì · HSK 7
to suppress; to crack down on; to prohibit
🚫 取 take + 缔 (form a bond/treaty) = authorities take away what was established → ban it
取 means take/seize and 缔 means to form or establish (as in 缔结 forming a treaty). Together: officials take back something formally established — a publication or custom — and outlaw it, punishing violators.
取 — ear 耳 + hand 又
取 originally depicted a hand (又) grasping an ear (耳), referencing the ancient practice of soldiers cutting off enemies' left ears as proof of kills to claim rewards. The meaning broadened from 'seize/take by force' to the general sense of 'take, get, obtain' used today.