肇事
zhào shì · HSK 7
to cause trouble
🚗💥 肇 (cause/begin) + 事 (affair) = to set an affair going wrong — to cause trouble
肇 means to start or cause; 事 means affair or matter. Together they name the act of setting a bad affair in motion — provoking a disturbance. Common in 肇事者 (the one who caused it) and 肇事逃逸 (cause an accident and flee).
事 — hand 又 holding a banner/tablet on a pole
Originally a pictograph of a hand (又) grasping a pole or ceremonial banner used by an official, depicting the act of conducting court business. From this it came to mean 'affair, matter, business, service.' It shares an ancient origin with 史 (scribe) and 吏 (official).