计算机
jì suàn jī · HSK 2
computer
💻 计算机 = calculate (计算) + machine (机) — a calculating machine
计 = count/calculate, 算 = compute/reckon, 机 = machine. Together 计算 means to calculate, and adding 机 gives the noun for the device that does it: a computer (or calculator in Taiwan).
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'.