整顿
zhěngdùn · HSK 6
reorganize
🧹 Sounds like zheng-DONE — reorganizing until the job is done
整 means tidy or whole, 顿 means to arrange or pause. Together they describe putting a messy system back into proper order — a thorough cleanup from top to bottom.
整 — 束 bundle + 攵 tap/strike + 正 correct/upright
A compound character combining 敕 (to arrange, with 束 'bundle' and 攵 'strike/action') over 正 ('upright, correct'). The image is of striking a bundle into proper alignment, giving the meaning 'to put in order, arrange neatly.' From this came senses of 'whole, complete, tidy.'
顿 — 屯 (tún, phonetic) + 頁/页 (head)
A phono-semantic compound. The right side 頁 means 'head', hinting at the original sense of bowing or knocking the head to the ground. The left side 屯 supplies the sound. From 'kowtow' it extended to 'pause, halt' and then to 'a bout/instance', as in 一顿饭 (one meal).