建议
jiànyì · HSK 3
suggest
💡 建议 = 建 (build/establish) + 议 (discuss/opinion)
建 means to build or establish; 议 means discussion or opinion. Together: to construct an opinion for someone — i.e. propose, suggest, recommend. The 言 radical on the left of 议 marks it as speech-related.
建 — 廴 (stride radical) + 聿 (writing brush)
Originally depicted a hand holding a brush (聿) combined with the 廴 'stride/extend' radical, suggesting drawing out or laying down lines. From this came the meaning of setting up or establishing, as in marking out the foundations of a building. Today it broadly means to build, establish, or construct.
议 — speech radical 讠 (言) + 义 (yì, righteousness)
议 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The speech radical 讠 (言) signals meaning related to talking, while 义 supplies the sound 'yì'. Together they convey discussing or deliberating—literally 'speech about what is right,' which fits its modern senses of 'discuss' and 'proposal.'