团结
tuánjié · HSK 3
unite
🤝 团 = group/round + 结 = knot/tie → group tied together = unite
团 is an enclosed group (the 囗 frame around 才); 结 means knot or tie. A group bound by a knot = solidarity. Compare 结婚 (tie marriage = wed) and 团体 (group body = organization).
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.
结 — silk radical 糸 + lucky 吉 (phonetic)
结 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The silk radical 糸 on the left signals the meaning, since the original sense was tying threads or cords into knots. The right side 吉 (jí) provides the sound. From the literal 'knot' it extended to figurative senses like 'bind,' 'conclude,' or 'form (a bond).'