发放
fāfàng · HSK 6
provide
💰 发 = issue/send out + 放 = release; together = hand out, grant
发放 pairs 发 (send out, issue) with 放 (release, let go), so it covers any official handing-out: wages, loans, subsidies, supplies. Common in formal contexts like 发放工资 (issue salary) or 发放贷款 (grant a loan).
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.'
放 — 方 (square/phonetic) + 攵 (rap/strike radical)
放 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 方 supplies the sound and 攵 (a hand holding a stick) supplies the meaning of striking or driving away. The original sense was to banish or drive out, which broadened over time to 'release', 'let go', and 'put down'.