结尾
jié wěi · HSK 7
ending
🔚 结 (tie up/conclude) + 尾 (tail) = the tail-end that ties things up: an ending
结 means to tie or conclude, 尾 means tail. The ending is the tail of a story that gets tied off. Sound: jié wěi, with wěi sharing its sound with 尾 tail.
结 — silk radical 糸 + lucky 吉 (phonetic)
结 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The silk radical 糸 on the left signals the meaning, since the original sense was tying threads or cords into knots. The right side 吉 (jí) provides the sound. From the literal 'knot' it extended to figurative senses like 'bind,' 'conclude,' or 'form (a bond).'