官僚主义
guān liáo zhǔ yì · HSK 7
bureaucracy
🏛️📋 官 official + 僚 fellow-officials + 主义 -ism = rule-by-officials -ism
官 means government official and 僚 means fellow officials or colleagues. Stack 主义 (-ism, doctrine) on top and you get the doctrine of officialdom: red tape and rule by paperwork.
官 — roof 宀 + mound/many 㠯
Originally a pictograph showing a building (roof 宀) over stacked mounds or seats (㠯), depicting an official residence or government office. The meaning extended from the building itself to the officials who worked there, and then broadly to 'official' or 'government.'
主 — flame/lamp on top of a stand 王
Originally a pictograph of a lamp with a flame on top of its stand, representing the lord or master of the household who tended the fire. The meaning extended from 'lamp/host' to 'master, owner, main, principal'. The character 炷 (wick) preserves the original 'lamp' sense.