基础
jīchǔ · HSK 3
foundation
🏛️ 基 = foundation + 础 = plinth/cornerstone; together: the base a building stands on
基 carries the sense of 'foundation site' (土 earth radical), and 础 originally meant the stone plinth under a wooden pillar. Compounded, 基础 names the literal and figurative groundwork beneath anything built.