修补
xiū bǔ · HSK 7
to mend
🧵🪡 修 fix + 补 patch = to mend; 补 is a clothes radical (衤) + the 'fill in a gap' sense
修 means to fix or repair; 补 means to patch or fill a hole, and its left side is the 衤 clothing radical. Together they mean mending something torn or broken, like darning a sock or repairing a wall.
修 — 亻 person + 攸 (phonetic) + 彡 hair/decoration
修 combines 攸 (a phonetic component originally showing a person being washed) with 彡, which depicts flowing hair or ornamental strokes. The 彡 element suggests grooming, polishing, or adorning, giving 修 its core meaning of cultivating, repairing, or refining oneself or things.
补 — clothes radical 衤 + 甫 (phonetic)
补 is a phono-semantic compound. The left side 衤 (clothes radical) gives the meaning, originally referring to patching or mending clothes. The right side 甫 supplies the sound. From 'mend a garment' the meaning broadened to 'repair, supplement, make up for'.