裁
cái · HSK 7
to cut
✂️ Sounds like 'tsai' — a tailor's CUT. Top is 土+𠂇, bottom is 衣 (clothes)
The character literally has 衣 (clothing) at the bottom, with a cutting action above. A tailor cuts fabric to make clothes — that is exactly what 裁 means: to cut out a pattern, to trim, to reduce.
裁 — 戈 (halberd) + 𢦏 (phonetic, to cut)
裁 originally depicted cutting cloth with a blade, combining 衣 (clothing, embedded in the character) with 𢦏 as the phonetic component suggesting cutting. The core meaning 'to cut cloth' extended to tailoring, then broadly to 'judge, decide, reduce' — as in deciding by cutting away. Modern uses include 裁判 (judge) and 裁缝 (tailor).