镇定
zhèn dìng · HSK 7
calm
🧘 镇 = town/garrison (settle a place) + 定 = fix/settle → settled steady, hence calm
Both 镇 and 定 carry the sense of holding something in place. 镇 once meant a garrison weighing down and securing a town; 定 means to fix or settle. A mind held firmly in place is 镇定: calm and unperturbed.
镇 — metal radical 钅 + 真 zhēn (true)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 钅 (metal) gives the meaning, while 真 supplies the sound. Originally referred to a heavy metal object used to press or weigh something down, then extended to 'suppress, pacify, garrison.' Today it also means 'town,' from the idea of a fortified military post.
定 — roof 宀 + 正 (correct/upright, phonetic)
Originally written with 宀 (roof) over 正 (upright/correct), suggesting a household settled and orderly under its roof. Over time 正 simplified to 㐬-like form at the bottom, and the meaning shifted from 'settled home' to the broader senses of 'fix, stable, decide.'