团长
tuánzhǎng · HSK 5
regimental commander
🎖️ 团 = group + 长 = chief → leader of a group
团 means group/regiment/troupe (also dumpling-round things, hence 'gathered together'); 长 means chief or elder. Stack them and you get the chief of any organized group: a regimental commander, delegation head, or troupe leader.
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.
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.