重要 (zhòng yào)

Character breakdown

• 重 (chóng) · 9 strokes

  Pictograph of a person (亻) carrying a heavy basket (東) on their back.

• 要 (yāo) · 9 strokes

  Pictograph of two hands grabbing a woman's (女) waist. The current meaning "want" is a phonetic loan. The original meaning "waist" is now written as 腰.