頂上
ちょうじょう · choujou · JLPT N3 · noun
top
🏔️ 頂 crown of the head + 上 up = the very top, the summit
頂 joins 頁 (head) with 丁, which gives the sound: the crown of the head. Add 上 (up, above) and you get the highest point of anything, such as a mountain's summit or the peak of a career.
上 — horizontal line above a baseline
上 is an indicative character (指事): a short stroke placed above a longer reference line shows the concept of 'above' or 'up'. The earliest oracle-bone forms used two horizontal lines for this; the modern shape added a vertical stroke for clarity. The core meaning of 'upper, above, to ascend' has stayed stable for millennia.