筹
choú · HSK 7
chip
🎰 CHOW down your chips before cashing out — choú sounds like chow
Bamboo radical on top (⺮) plus the character 寿 (longevity) below. Bamboo counting sticks were ancient tally tokens — the original poker chips. Sound-link: choú ≈ chow, so think of chowing down at the casino buffet with your chips.
筹 — bamboo radical 竹 + 壽 (longevity, phonetic)
Originally written with the bamboo radical over 壽, 筹 depicted small bamboo sticks used as counting tallies or chips in ancient China. From this concrete sense of 'counting rod' it extended to mean 'to count, plan, or scheme,' as seen in modern words like 筹划 (plan) and 筹码 (chip, bargaining counter).