背包
bēi bāo · HSK 5
knapsack
🎒 背 (carry on back) + 包 (bag) = back-bag = knapsack
背 bēi means to carry on one's back; 包 bāo is a bag or bundle. Together they literally spell back-bag, the everyday word for a backpack or rucksack slung over the shoulders.
背 — north 北 (phonetic) + flesh 月/肉
Originally a phono-semantic compound: 月 (a form of 肉, 'flesh/body') gives the meaning 'back of the body,' while 北 supplies the sound. Interestingly, 北 itself depicted two people back-to-back and once meant 'back'; when it was borrowed for 'north,' 背 was created with the flesh radical to keep the original sense.
包 — 勹 wrap + 巳 fetus
包 is a pictograph showing a fetus (巳) wrapped inside a womb (勹, an enclosing shape). The original sense was 'to wrap' or 'enclose,' and it later extended to mean a bundle, package, or bag. It also serves as a phonetic component in many characters like 抱, 泡, and 饱.