增大
zēng dà · HSK 5
to enlarge
📈 增 = add/increase + 大 = big; literally add bigness, so enlarge
增 carries the sense of adding or augmenting (think 增加 increase), and 大 means big or large. Stack them and you get add-bigness: to enlarge, amplify, or magnify something already there.
增 — earth 土 + 曾 (phonetic, 'layer/repeat')
A semantic-phonetic compound: 土 ('earth') gives the meaning, while 曾 supplies the sound and hints at 'layered, piled up.' The original sense was piling earth higher and higher, which generalized to 'increase, add to.' 曾 itself depicts a tiered steamer, reinforcing the idea of stacking.
大 — pictograph of a person with arms outstretched
大 is a pictograph showing a person standing with arms and legs spread wide. The outstretched arms suggest 'big' or 'great', extending from the literal image of a large stance to abstract meanings like important or grand. It is one of the oldest characters, found on oracle bones.