发布
fābù · HSK 5
announce
📢 发 = send out + 布 = spread/cloth → issue, announce
发 means to send out or issue; 布 originally meant cloth but extended to spread or proclaim. Together: send out and spread the word — to announce or publish.
发 — simplified form of 發; from 癶 (two feet) + 弓 (bow) + 殳 (weapon)
The traditional form 發 depicted shooting an arrow from a bow, with 癶 showing outstretched feet and 弓 the bow, giving the core sense of 'send out, discharge.' From this came extended meanings like 'issue, emit, develop.' The modern simplified 发 also absorbed 髮 (hair), so it now covers both 'to send out' and 'hair.'
布 — hand 手 (as 𠂇) + cloth 巾
Originally a pictograph of woven cloth held in a hand, combining a hand element (𠂇) with 巾 'cloth/towel'. The core meaning 'cloth' was extended to 'spread out, display' (as cloth is unfurled), giving modern senses like 'announce' and 'arrange'.