供求
gōng qiú · HSK 7
supply and demand (economics)
📦 供 = supply/provide + 求 = seek/demand
供 means to supply or provide; 求 means to seek or request. Together they form the economics pair supply-and-demand — one side offers, the other side asks.
供 — person radical 亻 + 共 (together)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 亻 (person) gives the meaning of human action while 共 (together, gōng) supplies the sound. Originally meaning to present or offer jointly, it extended to 'supply, provide.' A second reading gòng means to make an offering or confess.
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.