执照
zhízhào · HSK 7
license
🪪 执 hold + 照 certificate = the official permit you hold; a license
执 means to hold or grasp; 照 here means a certificate or permit (also a photo). Together they name a license you carry — a driver's 执照 or business 执照 — the formal endorsement that authorizes you to do something.
照 — 昭 (bright) phonetic + 灬 (fire radical)
照 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The bottom 灬 is a variant of 火 'fire', giving the meaning of light or illumination, while 昭 'bright' on top supplies the sound 'zhào' and reinforces the brightness sense. It originally meant to shine light on something, later extending to 'reflect', 'photograph', and 'according to'.