算计
suàn ji · HSK 7
to plan
🧮 算 = calculate + 计 = plan/scheme; together = to reckon and scheme out
算 carries the sense of counting or calculating (it holds 竹 bamboo, from ancient counting rods); 计 means to plan or scheme and pairs 言 speech with 十 ten. Stacked, the two calculating-words mean to reckon, work out, or plan ahead.
算 — bamboo 竹 + abacus 具 (eye 目 + two hands 廾)
Originally depicted counting with bamboo rods on an abacus-like device. The top 竹 (bamboo) refers to the bamboo counting sticks used in ancient Chinese arithmetic, while the bottom shows hands manipulating them. The meaning broadened from 'to count' to 'to calculate' or 'to plan'.
计 — speech radical 讠 (言) + ten 十
计 is a semantic compound: 言 'speech/words' plus 十 'ten', suggesting counting or reckoning aloud. The original sense was to calculate or tally numbers, which extended to 'plan, scheme, plot' — any kind of mental reckoning. Modern uses like 计算 (calculate) and 计划 (plan) preserve both threads.