磅
bàng · HSK 7
pound
⚖️ 石 stone + 旁 beside: stones sat beside goods on old balance scales
The 石 radical hints at stone counterweights used in traditional scales. Pronounced bàng, it borrows the sound of English pound. A stone goes bang when you drop it on the scale pan.
磅 — stone 石 + 旁 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 石 'stone' suggests weight or a heavy object, while 旁 supplies the sound. Originally referred to a large stone, later extended to mean 'pound' (the weight unit) and 'scale'. The reading bàng for 'pound' is a modern phonetic loan.