尊重
zūnzhòng · HSK 5
respect
🙇 尊 = honor/revere + 重 = weighty/heavy → treat as weighty-honored
尊 depicts hands offering a wine vessel in reverence; 重 means heavy or important. Together: to weigh someone as worthy of honor — respect and esteem.
重 — person 人 + east 東 (phonetic)
Originally depicted a person carrying a heavy bundle on their back, suggesting weight and burden. The 東-like element served as a phonetic component. Over time the character split into two readings: zhòng meaning 'heavy' and chóng meaning 'repeat/again'.