种族
zhǒngzú · HSK 7
race
🧬 种 species/kind + 族 clan = an ethnic group sharing one bloodline
种 carries the sense of breed or kind (as in 种子 seed); 族 means clan or tribe (same 族 as in 家族 family clan). Together they label a race or ethnic group: a kind of clan.
种 — grain radical 禾 + heavy 重 (phonetic)
种 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 禾 (grain) gives the meaning, while 重 supplies the sound. Originally it referred to seeds and the act of sowing grain, then broadened to 'kind' or 'type' (a category, like a strain of seed). In simplified Chinese it also absorbed the traditional 種.
族 — banner 㫃 + arrow 矢
族 originally depicted arrows 矢 gathered under a banner 㫃, representing a military unit or clan rallying under one flag. From this image of people united under a common standard, the meaning extended to family, tribe, and ethnic group.