山顶
shān dǐng · HSK 7
hilltop
⛰️ 山顶 = 山 mountain + 顶 top, so the mountain-top
顶 means top or peak on its own (the same character in 头顶, the top of the head). Stack it after 山 mountain and you land at the very summit: the hilltop.
山 — pictograph of three mountain peaks
山 is one of the oldest pictographs in Chinese, originally drawn in oracle bone script as three pointed peaks rising from a baseline. The form was simplified over time into the modern three vertical strokes on a base. Its meaning has stayed remarkably stable: 'mountain' or 'hill'.
顶 — 页 (head) + 丁 (phonetic)
顶 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The 页 component, originally a pictograph of a head, gives the meaning — the top of the head, hence 'top' or 'peak.' The 丁 component supplies the sound (dīng → dǐng). It later extended to verbs like 'support from below' or 'carry on the head.'