团圆
tuán yuán · HSK 7
to have a reunion
🥮 团 (group) + 圆 (round) = the family circle comes back together; a reunion
Both characters carry the round-and-whole idea: 团 is a gathered group and 圆 is a circle. Together they name the round, complete feeling of a family reunion, the same word used for the mooncake holiday 团圆 gatherings.
团 — enclosure 囗 + 才 (phonetic/abbreviated 專)
Originally written 團, showing an enclosure 囗 around 專 (a spindle) suggesting something wound into a round shape. The character came to mean 'round,' 'lump,' or 'group.' The simplified form 团 keeps the enclosure 囗 but replaces the inner element with 才 for ease of writing.
圆 — enclosure 囗 + 員 (phonetic)
圆 is a phono-semantic compound. The outer 囗 (enclosure) suggests a round, closed shape, while 員 provides the sound and originally depicted a round-mouthed tripod vessel. Together they came to mean 'round' or 'circle,' later extending to 'complete' and the unit of currency.