呼救
hū jiù · HSK 7
to call for help
🆘 呼 call out + 救 rescue = call out for rescue = call for help
呼 (hū) is to call or shout out; 救 (jiù) is to rescue or save. Together: shouting out so someone comes to save you. 救 also shows up in 救命 (save my life) and 急救 (first aid).
救 — 求 (seek/phonetic) + 攵 (strike/action)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The right side 攵 (a hand holding a stick) gives the action sense of intervening or stopping, while 求 supplies the sound 'jiu'. Originally meaning to halt or stop something bad, it extended to 'rescue, save, aid'.