司长
sī zhǎng · HSK 6
bureau chief
🏛️👔 司 manage/department + 长 chief/head = the one who runs a bureau
司 (sī) means to manage or oversee — as in 司法 (judiciary). 长 (zhǎng) means chief or elder. Stack them: the senior official who manages an entire bureau.
长 — pictograph of long-haired person with cane
Originally a pictograph showing a person with long, flowing hair leaning on a cane, representing an elder. The meaning extended from 'long hair' to 'long' in general, and also to 'elder' or 'to grow' (read zhǎng). The modern form 长 is a simplification of the traditional 長.