唱片
chàngpiàn · HSK 4
record
💿 唱片 = 唱 (sing) + 片 (slice/disc) — a sung slice
Compound: 唱 chàng 'sing' + 片 piàn 'thin slice/sheet/disc'. A disc that sings — a record. The 片 morpheme also shows up in 照片 (photo) and 影片 (film), always meaning a thin flat piece.
唱 — mouth 口 + 昌 (bright/prosperous, phonetic)
唱 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The mouth radical 口 signals an action done with the voice, while 昌 supplies the sound and originally meant 'bright' or 'flourishing.' Together they came to mean 'to sing' or 'lead in chanting,' extending to 'call out' or 'proclaim.'
片 — right half of 木 (tree split vertically)
Pictograph showing the right half of a tree 木 split down the middle, depicting a thin slice or slab of wood. From this came the meanings 'slice,' 'flat thin piece,' and by extension 'sheet' or 'card.' Its mirror image 爿 represents the left half.