联想
lián xiǎng · HSK 5
mental association
🔗💭 联 = connect + 想 = think; connect-thinking = association
联 means link/connect (as in 联系 contact), 想 means think. Together: linking thoughts, i.e. mental association. Also the name of the Lenovo computer company (联想集团).
想 — heart 心 + 相 (xiāng, phonetic)
想 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The heart radical 心 at the bottom carries the meaning, since classical Chinese located thought and feeling in the heart. The top component 相 (xiāng) supplies the sound, and over time the character settled into the senses 'to think,' 'to want,' and 'to miss.'