部长
bùzhǎng · HSK 3
cabinet minister
🏛️ 部 = department/section + 长 = chief/head → section chief, i.e. minister
部 means a department or ministry; 长 means head or chief (the same 长 as in 校长 'school principal'). Put them together and 部长 is literally the head of a department — a cabinet minister or bureau chief.
部 — 阝(邑) right + 咅 phonetic
The right-side 阝 derives from 邑 (city/settlement), giving the meaning of a region, district, or administrative division. The left side 咅 supplies the sound. Originally referring to a settlement, the meaning broadened to 'part,' 'section,' or 'ministry.'
长 — pictograph of long-haired person with cane
Originally a pictograph showing a person with long, flowing hair leaning on a cane, representing an elder. The meaning extended from 'long hair' to 'long' in general, and also to 'elder' or 'to grow' (read zhǎng). The modern form 长 is a simplification of the traditional 長.