解决
jiějué · HSK 3
solve
🔓 解 = untie/loosen + 决 = decide/settle → untie and decide = solve
解 originally depicted cutting apart an ox with a knife (刀) — to take apart, untangle. 决 means to decide or break through. Together: untangle a problem and settle it decisively.
解 — horn 角 + knife 刀 + ox 牛
解 is an ideograph showing hands using a knife (刀) to separate the horn (角) from an ox (牛). The original meaning was to butcher or dismember an ox, which broadened to 'untie, separate, loosen,' and then extended figuratively to 'explain' or 'understand'—to take something apart mentally.