继母
jì mǔ · HSK 7
stepmother
👩 继 (continue/succeed) + 母 (mother) = the mother who continues on = stepmother
继 means to follow on or inherit (as in 继续 jìxù, to continue); 母 is mother. A 继母 is the mother who comes next in succession after the birth mother. Same 继 shows up in 继父 jìfù, stepfather.
继 — silk radical 糹 + 㡭 (continuous threads)
继 means 'to continue' or 'succeed (to)'. The silk radical 糹 evokes threads being joined, while the right side 㡭 originally depicted unbroken strands of silk. Together they suggest splicing threads — extending what came before, hence inheriting or carrying on.
母 — pictograph of kneeling woman with two breast dots
母 is a pictograph derived from 女 (woman) with two added dots representing breasts, marking a nursing mother. The earliest oracle bone forms show a kneeling figure with prominent dots on the chest. The meaning has stayed remarkably stable, denoting 'mother' and by extension 'female' or 'source/origin'.