控制
kòngzhì · HSK 5
control
🎮 控 = control/accuse + 制 = make/system; together: to command
控 (kòng) carries the sense of pulling reins or holding back, while 制 (zhì) means to make or regulate a system. Combined, 控制 means to hold the reins of a system — to dominate or command it.
制 — knife 刂 + 未 (tree branches)
Originally depicted a knife 刂 cutting branches from a tree, showing the act of trimming or shaping wood. From this concrete sense of cutting to size came the meanings 'to make,' 'to manufacture,' and by extension 'to control' or 'regulate' — shaping things to a desired form.