计划
jìhuà · HSK 2
plan
📋 计 = measure/count + 划 = stroke/plan; together: a counted-out plan
计 means to count or calculate (言 speech + 十 ten). 划 means to mark, stroke, or plan. Combined, 计划 is a calculated, stroke-by-stroke plan — a project mapped out in advance.
计 — speech radical 讠 (言) + ten 十
计 is a semantic compound: 言 'speech/words' plus 十 'ten', suggesting counting or reckoning aloud. The original sense was to calculate or tally numbers, which extended to 'plan, scheme, plot' — any kind of mental reckoning. Modern uses like 计算 (calculate) and 计划 (plan) preserve both threads.
划 — knife radical 刂 + 戈 (dagger-axe)
Originally written 劃, a semantic-phonetic compound: 刂 (knife) gives the meaning of cutting or marking, while 畫 supplied the sound and the sense of drawing lines. The simplified form 划 reuses an older character meaning to row a boat. Today it covers both senses: huá (to row, to scratch) and huà (to mark off, to plan).