管
guǎn · HSK 3
have charge of
🎍 管 = 竹 bamboo + 官 official: officials use bamboo tubes/pipes to manage
竹 (bamboo) on top + 官 (official) below. Originally a bamboo pipe or tube; semantically extended to 'manage/administer' since officials handle records through bureaucratic channels (pipes/conduits).
管 — bamboo radical 竹 + official 官 (phonetic)
Originally a pictograph of a bamboo tube or pipe, written with the bamboo radical 竹 on top. The lower component 官 supplies the sound. From 'bamboo pipe' it extended to 'tube,' then to 'manage' or 'control' — since pipes channel and regulate flow, the meaning shifted toward administration.