签订
qiāndìng · HSK 5
conclude and sign (treaty/contract/etc.)
📝✍️ 签 = sign + 订 = settle/contract; together = sign and conclude
签 means to sign/label, 订 means to settle or finalize an agreement. Stacked, they describe formally signing something binding like a treaty 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.
订 — speech radical 讠 + nail 丁
订 combines the speech radical 讠 (word) with 丁 (nail), which also hints at the sound. The idea is words 'nailed down' into an agreement, giving meanings like to settle, arrange, subscribe, or book. 丁 is mainly phonetic here but reinforces the sense of fixing something firmly.