垄断
lǒngduàn · HSK 7
monopolize
🎩 垄 = field ridge + 断 = cut off; stand on the high ridge and cut everyone else out of the market
From a Mencius tale: a trader climbs the 垄 (raised ridge) to oversee the whole market, then 断 (cuts off) all rivals to grab the trade for himself. lǒngduàn = cornering it alone. The top hat nods to the game Monopoly.
断 — thread 㡭 (silk bundle) + axe 斤
Originally written with 㡭 (entangled silk threads) on the left and 斤 (axe) on the right, depicting an axe cutting through bundled threads. From this concrete image of severing came the meanings 'to cut off,' 'to break,' and by extension 'to decide' or 'judge'—as in resolving a matter decisively.