强制
qiáng zhì · HSK 7
to enforce
👮 强 (strong/force) + 制 (control/restrict) = strong-arm control = to enforce, compulsory
强 carries the sense of strength or forcing; 制 means to control or restrict. Together they mean control imposed by force: to enforce, compulsory, by compulsion. Note 强 here is qiáng, the forceful reading.
强 — bow 弓 + elong 㔾 + insect 虫
Originally written 強, depicting a type of strong-shelled insect or weevil, with 虫 (insect) as semantic and 弘 as phonetic. The meaning shifted from the insect's tough shell to the general sense of 'strong, powerful, forceful.' The form 强 is a common variant where 弘 is replaced by 弓+口.
制 — knife 刂 + 未 (tree branches)
Originally depicted a knife 刂 cutting branches from a tree, showing the act of trimming or shaping wood. From this concrete sense of cutting to size came the meanings 'to make,' 'to manufacture,' and by extension 'to control' or 'regulate' — shaping things to a desired form.