使唤
shǐ huàn · HSK 7
to order sb about
🫵 使 use + 唤 call = call someone to use them = order sb about
使 means to use or send; 唤 means to call or summon. Together: to summon someone and put them to work, i.e. to order sb about. The huàn part shares its sound with 喊 hǎn (to shout) — a boss shouting commands.
使 — person radical 亻 + official 吏
Originally a phono-semantic compound: 亻 (person) gives the meaning and 吏 (official, also a phonetic clue) suggests the sound. The early sense was 'to send a person on a mission,' from which came 'envoy/messenger' and the broader meanings 'to use' and 'to cause/make.'