记录
jìlù · HSK 3
record
📝 记 = remember + 录 = record/write down
记 (jì) means to remember or note; 录 (lù) means to record or transcribe. Together 记录 is the act of writing something down to preserve it — a written record or log entry.
记 — speech radical 讠 (言) + self 己
记 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left side 讠 (the 'speech' radical, simplified from 言) signals meaning related to words or recording, while 己 ('self') supplies the sound. Together it conveys writing down or remembering — noting things in words.
录 — 彐 (hand) + 氺 (water/threads)
Originally depicted a hand carving or inscribing characters, with the lower element suggesting shavings or marks. The early meaning was 'to carve' or 'to engrave', which extended to 'to record' or 'to write down'. Today it primarily means 'to record' or 'copy'.