促使
cùshǐ · HSK 4
prompt
👉 促 (urge) + 使 (cause/make) = urge-and-make → prompt someone to act
促 cù means to urge or hurry; 使 shǐ means to cause or make. Together they mean to spur someone into action. Compare 催促 cuīcù (urge) and 使用 shǐyòng (use) — same building blocks recombined.
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.'