首要
shǒuyào · HSK 7
chief
🥇 首要 = 首 head/chief + 要 important = the head-most important thing, top priority
首 (shǒu) is head or chief; 要 (yào) means essential or important. Stacked together they name what ranks first above all else: the paramount, number-one concern.
首 — hair 丷 over face 自 (eye + nose)
首 is a pictograph of a head, originally drawn with hair on top and a face below (containing the eye element 目). It meant 'head' literally, then extended to 'chief, leader, first' since the head is the topmost and foremost part of the body.
要 — west 覀 (top) + woman 女 (bottom)
Originally a pictograph of a woman with hands on her waist, meaning 'waist' (the original form of 腰). The top 覀 is a stylized depiction of the waist area, not the character for 'west'. Over time it was borrowed for the meaning 'to want, important', so 腰 (with 月 flesh radical) was created for the original 'waist' sense.