设立
shèlì · HSK 3
establish
🏛️ 设 (set up) + 立 (stand) = set up and make stand → establish
设 means to set up or arrange; 立 means to stand. Together they mean to set something up so it stands — to establish or found an institution, rule, or organization.
设 — speech 讠 + hand holding tool 殳
设 combines 讠 (speech) with 殳 (a hand wielding a tool or weapon), suggesting giving orders to set something up. The original sense was to arrange or establish through command, which extended to today's meanings of 'set up,' 'design,' or 'suppose.'
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.'