basically; on the whole
基 · 11 strokes
Phonosemantic compound. 土 represents the meaning and 其 represents the sound.
本 · 5 strokes
Addition of a horizontal line toward the bottom of 木 (tree) to represent the roots of the tree.
上 · 3 strokes
Originally a small line or dot above a longer line, indicating "up". The vertical line was added to distinguish the character from 二 (two). Opposite of 下.