乞讨
qǐ tǎo · HSK 7
to beg
🙏 乞 beg + 讨 ask-for/demand = to beg, to go begging
乞 (qǐ) means to beg or request; 讨 (tǎo) means to ask for or demand. Stacked together they intensify into begging for alms. 讨 also shows up in 讨论 (discuss) and 讨厌 (to dislike).
讨 — speech radical 讠 + inch 寸
A semantic-phonetic compound combining 讠 (speech) with 寸 (a hand/measure), suggesting demanding or seeking through words. The original sense was to denounce or punish verbally, which broadened over time to mean 'to demand,' 'to ask for,' and 'to discuss.' Modern uses like 讨论 (discuss) and 讨厌 (detest) reflect this range.