启事
qǐ shì · HSK 5
announcement
📢 启事 = 启 (open/announce) + 事 (matter/affair)
启 means to open or announce; 事 means matter or affair. Together: an announced matter — a written public notice posted on billboards, in newspapers, or online.
事 — hand 又 holding a banner/tablet on a pole
Originally a pictograph of a hand (又) grasping a pole or ceremonial banner used by an official, depicting the act of conducting court business. From this it came to mean 'affair, matter, business, service.' It shares an ancient origin with 史 (scribe) and 吏 (official).