签约
qiānyuē · HSK 5
sign a contract
📝 签 (sign) + 约 (agreement/pact) = sign an agreement
签 means to sign or label (think 签名 'signature'); 约 means agreement or appointment (as in 约会 'date/appointment'). Together: formally signing a pact or contract.
签 — bamboo radical 竹 (⺮) + 佥 (qiān, phonetic)
Originally written 籤, this character depicts bamboo strips (⺮) used as markers, tags, or lots drawn for divination. The component 佥 supplies the sound. Over time the meaning broadened from physical bamboo slips to labels, signatures, and signing one's name.
约 — silk radical 糹/纟 + ladle 勺
约 combines the silk radical 糹 with 勺 (ladle), which provides the sound. Originally it referred to binding or tying with silk cords, from which came the meanings 'to bind by agreement,' hence 'pact, appointment,' and later 'approximately' (a loose, tied-up estimate).