班长
bānzhǎng · HSK 2
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👨🏫 班 = class/squad + 长 = chief/leader → leader of the squad
班 means class or squad (a group), and 长 means chief, head, or eldest. Together 班长 literally reads as squad-chief — the person in charge of a class, work team, or military squad.
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.
长 — pictograph of long-haired person with cane
Originally a pictograph showing a person with long, flowing hair leaning on a cane, representing an elder. The meaning extended from 'long hair' to 'long' in general, and also to 'elder' or 'to grow' (read zhǎng). The modern form 长 is a simplification of the traditional 長.