夜班
yè bān · HSK 7
shift
🌙 夜班 = 夜 night + 班 shift/work-team
夜 means night and 班 means a work shift or team (same 班 as in 上班 to go to work). Together they name the shift you work after dark.
夜 — 亠 lid + 亻 person + 夕 evening moon
夜 originally depicted a person (亻) under a roof (亠) with the moon (夕) beside them, evoking nighttime rest. The moon component 夕 carries the meaning of evening, while the surrounding elements set the scene of a person at night. Over time it came to mean 'night' in general.
班 — two jade 玨 + knife 刂 in the middle
班 originally depicted a knife (刂) dividing a pair of jade pieces (玨), showing the act of splitting jade between people. From this 'dividing' sense it came to mean 'distribute,' then 'a group formed by division,' giving modern meanings like class, team, or shift.