刷新
shuā xīn · HSK 7
to renovate
🔄🖌️ 刷 brush/swipe + 新 new = brush it anew → refresh, refurbish
刷 means to brush or swipe (think swiping a brush across a surface); 新 means new. Together: brush something until it looks new again — hence renovate, refurbish, or refresh a computer window.
刷 — 刂 knife + 㕞 (brush, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The right side 㕞 originally depicted a brush or scrubber and supplies the sound, while the knife radical 刂 hints at scraping or sweeping action. The character came to mean 'to brush, scrub, or swipe,' later extending to modern senses like swiping a card or binge-watching.
新 — 立 stand + 木 tree + 斤 axe
Originally depicted cutting fresh wood with an axe (斤) from a tree (木), with 辛/立 as the phonetic component. The original meaning of 'firewood' was later written as 薪, while 新 took on the extended sense of 'new' or 'fresh'.