段
duàn · HSK 2
paragraph
段 = measure word for sections, segments, or stretches of something
Used to count segments: 一段路 (a stretch of road), 一段时间 (a period of time), 一段话 (a passage of speech). The character itself also means section or paragraph.
段 — left component 𠂉 + right component 殳 (weapon/strike)
段 originally depicted striking or hammering a piece of stone or metal with a tool, shown by the 殳 'strike' element on the right. From this 'hammering/forging' sense it extended to mean a section or segment cut off, and today it commonly means a paragraph, stage, or piece.