组长
zǔzhǎng · HSK 2
chief/head of group/section
👥 组 = group + 长 = chief/head → head of a group
组 means group or team; 长 (zhǎng) means chief or senior. Together 组长 is the person leading a small group or section — a team leader or squad head. Note 长 is read zhǎng here (leader), not cháng (long).
组 — silk radical 糹 + 且 (zǔ phonetic)
组 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The silk radical 糹 signals the original meaning of weaving or braiding cords of silk threads together, while 且 supplies the sound zǔ. From 'braided cord' the meaning extended to 'group' or 'to organize,' since braiding bundles strands into one unit.
长 — pictograph of long-haired person with cane
Originally a pictograph showing a person with long, flowing hair leaning on a cane, representing an elder. The meaning extended from 'long hair' to 'long' in general, and also to 'elder' or 'to grow' (read zhǎng). The modern form 长 is a simplification of the traditional 長.