推算
tuī suàn · HSK 7
to calculate
🧮 推 push/infer + 算 calculate = push the numbers forward to reckon a result
推 means to push or infer, 算 means to calculate. Together: you push a calculation onward from known figures to work out an unknown one — extrapolating, reckoning ahead.
推 — hand radical 扌 + 隹 (short-tailed bird)
A semantic-phonetic compound: the hand radical 扌 gives the meaning 'to push' or act with the hand, while 隹 supplies the sound (originally close to 'tui'). The core sense has stayed remarkably stable, expanding from physical pushing to figurative uses like 'recommend' or 'infer'.
算 — bamboo 竹 + abacus 具 (eye 目 + two hands 廾)
Originally depicted counting with bamboo rods on an abacus-like device. The top 竹 (bamboo) refers to the bamboo counting sticks used in ancient Chinese arithmetic, while the bottom shows hands manipulating them. The meaning broadened from 'to count' to 'to calculate' or 'to plan'.