筑
zhù · HSK 7
to build
🏗️🎋 筑 = bamboo 竹 on top + 巩 gong (firm/secure) — build something firm; also Guiyang's nickname
zhu started as a bamboo struck zither, then shifted to mean ram, build, construct (the rammed-earth sense). The bamboo radical 竹 sits over 巩 gong, meaning firm or secure. It also serves as the short name for the city Guiyang.
筑 — bamboo 竹 + 巩 (phonetic, 'bind firmly')
Originally depicted a bamboo zither struck with a stick, with 竹 giving the meaning and 巩 hinting at the sound. The sense later extended from the instrument to 'to ram earth' and then 'to build,' since early Chinese walls were built by pounding earth between bamboo frames. Today it mainly means 'to build/construct.'