订立
dìng lì · HSK 7
to conclude
📜✍️ 订 = nail down + 立 = stand up — nail something so it stands firm
When you conclude a treaty or set up a rule, you nail the terms down (订 from 钉, nail) and make them stand (立). The agreement is hammered into place and stands as binding law.
订 — speech radical 讠 + nail 丁
订 combines the speech radical 讠 (word) with 丁 (nail), which also hints at the sound. The idea is words 'nailed down' into an agreement, giving meanings like to settle, arrange, subscribe, or book. 丁 is mainly phonetic here but reinforces the sense of fixing something firmly.
立 — person standing on ground (大 over 一)
Pictograph of a person standing with arms outstretched on the ground line below. The original oracle bone form clearly shows a frontal human figure planted on the earth. The core meaning 'to stand' extended to 'establish, set up, erect.'