悬挂
xuán guà · HSK 7
to hang
🪝 悬 hang + 挂 hang — two hanging words doubled up; also a car's suspension
Both 悬 and 挂 mean to hang or suspend, stacked for emphasis. 挂 (guà) also shows up in 挂电话 to hang up a phone. For vehicles, 悬挂 is the suspension system that holds the chassis up.
悬 — heart radical 心 (bottom) + 县 (xiàn, hang/county)
Originally written 懸, a phono-semantic compound: 心 (heart) gives the meaning of mental hanging or worry, while 縣 (county, originally depicting a head hung from a tree) supplied the sound. The simplified form 悬 keeps 心 below 县. Core sense: to hang, suspend; extended to 'pending, unresolved, anxious.'
挂 — hand radical 扌 + 圭 (jade tablet, phonetic)
挂 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 gives the meaning, since hanging something requires the hand to place it on a hook or peg. The right side 圭 (guī, a jade tablet) supplies the sound, close to the modern reading guà. Originally written 掛, it meant to suspend or hang up.