养活
yǎng huo · HSK 7
to provide for
🍚 养活 = 养 raise + 活 alive: feed someone enough to keep them living
养 means to raise or nurture and 活 means alive or living. Put together, 养活 is providing enough food and support to keep a family or animals living.
养 — sheep 羊 (top) + 八 over 艮-like base; simplified from 養 (食 + 羊)
The traditional form 養 combined 食 'food' with 羊 'sheep' as the phonetic, depicting the act of feeding sheep and, by extension, raising or nourishing living things. The simplified form 养 keeps 羊 on top but drops the 食 component. From 'feed' the meaning broadened to rear, support, and cultivate.
活 — water radical 氵 + tongue 舌
Originally a phono-semantic compound: 氵 (water) suggests flowing or liveliness, while 舌 (tongue) hints at the sound. Early forms depicted gushing water, conveying the idea of being lively or alive. The meaning broadened from 'flowing water' to 'living, alive, active.'