顿
dùn · HSK 3
to lay out
🍽️ 顿 = 屯 (dùn, stockpile) phonetic + 页 (head); measure word for meals/events
顿 is a measure word for discrete events, especially meals (一顿饭 = one meal) or bouts of scolding/beating. The 屯 component gives the dùn sound; 页 (head) hints at a single occurrence or instance.
顿 — 屯 (tún, phonetic) + 頁/页 (head)
A phono-semantic compound. The right side 頁 means 'head', hinting at the original sense of bowing or knocking the head to the ground. The left side 屯 supplies the sound. From 'kowtow' it extended to 'pause, halt' and then to 'a bout/instance', as in 一顿饭 (one meal).