芯片
xīn piàn · HSK 7
computer chip
💻🔲 芯 core + 片 thin-slice = a thin slice at the computer's core: a chip
芯 means core or center (the wick inside a candle); 片 means a flat thin slice or flake. A microchip is the thin slice of silicon at the core of the machine. Sound: xīn piàn, with piàn rhyming with the en word punt-ish pee-ahn.
片 — right half of 木 (tree split vertically)
Pictograph showing the right half of a tree 木 split down the middle, depicting a thin slice or slab of wood. From this came the meanings 'slice,' 'flat thin piece,' and by extension 'sheet' or 'card.' Its mirror image 爿 represents the left half.