游戏机
yoú xì jī · HSK 6
game machine
🎮 游 travel + 戏 play + 机 machine = a machine you play games on
The three characters break down neatly: 游 (swim/travel/roam), 戏 (play/drama), and 机 (machine). Together they literally say roaming-play-machine — a game console you lose hours traveling through worlds on.
游 — water radical 氵 + 斿 (banner/streamer)
游 combines the water radical 氵 with 斿, which depicts a banner streaming in the wind. The original sense was a flag fluttering or floating, extended to drifting on water, swimming, and wandering. Today it commonly means to swim, travel, or roam.
戏 — 戈 spear + 虚-variant 虍/seat (left)
Originally written 戲, combining a left element depicting a ceremonial vessel or tiger-headed seat with 戈 (spear/halberd) on the right, suggesting armed performance or mock combat. It came to mean 'play, drama, theatrical performance.' The modern simplified form 戏 keeps 戈 and replaces the complex left side with 又 (hand).