录制
lù zhì · HSK 7
to record (video or audio)
🎙️🎥 录制 = 录 record + 制 produce: to capture-and-produce audio or video
录 — 彐 (hand) + 氺 (water/threads)
Originally depicted a hand carving or inscribing characters, with the lower element suggesting shavings or marks. The early meaning was 'to carve' or 'to engrave', which extended to 'to record' or 'to write down'. Today it primarily means 'to record' or 'copy'.
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.