周期
zhoū qī · HSK 5
period
🔄 周 = cycle/week + 期 = period/term
周 means a full circuit (also 'week'); 期 means a set period or term. Together they form 'cycle' — a recurring span of time. Think of it as 'circuit + term' = the duration of one full loop.
周 — enclosure 囗 + 吉 (earth 土 + mouth 口)
Originally a pictograph of a field with grain plotted in rows, suggesting density and completeness. It came to mean 'all around,' 'circumference,' and 'complete,' later extending to 'week' (a full cycle). Also a major surname, famously the Zhou dynasty.
期 — 其 (phonetic) + 月 (moon/time)
期 is a phono-semantic compound. The right side 月 (moon) signals meaning, since lunar cycles marked fixed time periods in ancient China. The left side 其 supplies the sound. Together it points to a set time, period, or appointed date — meanings still carried today in words like 期间 and 日期.