机制
jīzhì · HSK 5
mechanism
⚙️ 机制 = 机 (machine) + 制 (system/control) → machine-system = mechanism
机 means machine or device; 制 means to control, regulate, or establish a system. Together they name the regulated machinery of a process — the mechanism by which something operates.
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.