计算
jìsuàn · HSK 3
calculate
🧮 计 = plan/count + 算 = calculate; together: to compute
计 combines 言 (speech) with 十 (ten), an old sense of tallying by counting aloud. 算 shows 竹 (bamboo) over 具 (tool) — bamboo counting rods. Both characters mean 'reckon,' so 计算 doubles down on the idea of calculation.
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.
算 — bamboo 竹 + abacus 具 (eye 目 + two hands 廾)
Originally depicted counting with bamboo rods on an abacus-like device. The top 竹 (bamboo) refers to the bamboo counting sticks used in ancient Chinese arithmetic, while the bottom shows hands manipulating them. The meaning broadened from 'to count' to 'to calculate' or 'to plan'.