连锁
lián suǒ · HSK 7
chain
🔗 连锁 = 连 (connect) + 锁 (lock) → links locked together into a chain
连 means to connect or link; 锁 means lock or chain. Locked-together links form a chain, which extends to a chain of stores — many shops linked under one name.
连 — 辶 (walk) + 车 (cart/vehicle)
Originally a compound of the 'walk/movement' radical 辶 and 车 (cart), depicting carts moving in succession along a road. From this came the core sense of things linked or following one after another, extending to modern meanings like 'connect,' 'join,' and 'continuous.'
锁 — metal radical 钅 + 𫔑 (small/phonetic)
锁 means 'lock' or 'chain.' The metal radical 钅 (金) signals a metal object, while the right side originally depicted small linked rings, hinting at both meaning and sound. Early locks were chains of small metal pieces, so the character paints a picture of linked metal.