手术
shǒushù · HSK 4
operation
🔪 手 (hand) + 术 (technique/art) = hand-craft = surgery
手 means hand and 术 means technique or skill. Together, a hand-technique is a surgical operation. Compare 艺术 (art) and 技术 (tech) — 术 keeps the skill/craft sense.
手 — pictograph of a hand with five fingers
手 is a pictograph showing an open hand with fingers and a wrist. Early bronze and oracle bone forms clearly depict five splayed fingers, which simplified over time into the modern shape. It keeps its original meaning of 'hand' and also serves as a radical in many characters related to hand actions.