班级
bānjí · HSK 3
class
🏫 班 = group/class + 级 = grade/rank
班 originally meant to divide jade with a knife, hence a group split off; 级 (糸 silk + 及) ranks threads by quality, now meaning rank or grade. Together: the grade-ranked groups of students at school.
班 — two jade 玨 + knife 刂 in the middle
班 originally depicted a knife (刂) dividing a pair of jade pieces (玨), showing the act of splitting jade between people. From this 'dividing' sense it came to mean 'distribute,' then 'a group formed by division,' giving modern meanings like class, team, or shift.
级 — silk radical 纟 + 及 jí (phonetic)
级 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The silk radical 纟 originally referred to threads or the steps/ranks of silk cords used to mark official grades. The right side 及 (jí) supplies the sound. Over time the meaning shifted from 'cord-marked rank' to general 'level, grade, class.'