割
gē · HSK 7
cut
🔪 宀 roof + 害 harm = cut/sever (knife radical 刂 on right)
The right side 刂 is the knife radical, signaling cutting. The left 害 (hài, harm) hints at the sound and the destructive action. Common in 割断 (sever) and 收割 (harvest).
割 — 害 (harm, phonetic) + 刂 (knife radical)
A semantic-phonetic compound: the knife radical 刂 gives the meaning 'cut,' while 害 supplies the sound. The original sense was to cut or slice with a blade, which extended to 'divide' and 'allot a share.' Modern uses like 割爱 (give up something dear) preserve this idea of cutting away.