总统
zǒngtǒng · HSK 4
president
总 = chief/overall + 统 = govern/unify; the overall ruler
总 carries the sense of overall or chief (also seen in 总裁 CEO, 总共 in total). 统 means to govern or unify (as in 统一 unify). Together: the chief who governs — a president.
总 — top 丷 + 口 + 心 (heart radical)
总 is the simplified form of 總. The traditional form combined 糸 (silk threads) with 悤 as phonetic, originally meaning to gather or tie threads together. From 'bundling threads' the meaning extended to 'gather all,' 'general,' 'overall,' and 'always.'