掌管
zhǎng guǎn · HSK 7
in charge of
🖐️ 掌 (palm, to control) + 管 (to manage) = hold the management in your palm
掌 means palm and by extension to hold or control; 管 means to manage or be responsible for. Together 掌管 is to be in charge of or control something. The 手 (hand) radical in 掌 ties it to grasping authority.
管 — bamboo radical 竹 + official 官 (phonetic)
Originally a pictograph of a bamboo tube or pipe, written with the bamboo radical 竹 on top. The lower component 官 supplies the sound. From 'bamboo pipe' it extended to 'tube,' then to 'manage' or 'control' — since pipes channel and regulate flow, the meaning shifted toward administration.