手段
しゅだん · shudan · JLPT N3 · noun
means
🔧 手段 = hand (手) + step (段): the steps your hand takes to get it done
手 is hand and 段 is a step or stage, as in 階段 (stairs). A means is literally the hand-steps you take toward a goal. Sound hook: shu-dan, like a shoe done up before you can set off, the measure you take first.
手 — pictograph of a hand with five fingers
手 is a pictograph showing an open hand with fingers and a wrist. Early bronze and oracle bone forms clearly depict five splayed fingers, which simplified over time into the modern shape. It keeps its original meaning of 'hand' and also serves as a radical in many characters related to hand actions.
段 — left component 𠂉 + right component 殳 (weapon/strike)
段 originally depicted striking or hammering a piece of stone or metal with a tool, shown by the 殳 'strike' element on the right. From this 'hammering/forging' sense it extended to mean a section or segment cut off, and today it commonly means a paragraph, stage, or piece.