乞求
qǐ qiú · HSK 7
to beg
🙏 乞 (beg) + 求 (seek/request) = to beg, plead for something
Both characters mean asking: 乞 is to beg or ask for, 求 is to seek or request. Stacked together they intensify into pleading. The sound qǐ qiú has a near-rhyme that echoes the doubled meaning.
求 — pictograph of a fur garment
求 originally depicted a fur coat or pelt, with hairs hanging from the sides. It was later borrowed phonetically to mean 'seek' or 'request,' and the original 'fur' meaning was taken over by 裘. Today 求 almost always means to seek, beg, or pursue.