高利贷 (gāo lì dài) — usurious loan (a loan charged at extremely high interest rates); usury (the practice of lending money at such high interest rates)

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

高 was drawn as a tall building.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

利 combines 禾 (grain) and 刀 (knife), showing a knife used to cut grain.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 貸; 贷 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 貸 pairs 貝 (shell) with 代, which gives its sound; the simplified 贷 is a later shorthand. It originally meant to give or bestow, later to lend.