移民
yímín · HSK 4
emigrant/immigrant
🧳 移 = move/shift + 民 = people; people who shift homelands
移 means to move or transfer; 民 means people or citizens. Together: people who relocate across borders. Same compound covers both directions — emigrant (leaving) and immigrant (arriving).
移 — grain 禾 + many 多
Originally a semantic-phonetic compound: 禾 (grain) gives the meaning and 多 (duō) suggested the sound in Old Chinese. It first referred to transplanting rice seedlings, then broadened to mean 'to move, shift, or relocate' in general.