对付
duìfù · HSK 4
deal/cope with
🤺 对 = face/oppose + 付 = hand over/deal — face-and-deal-with
对 carries the sense of facing or matching up against something; 付 means to hand over or deal out. Together: to face a situation and deal it out — handle, cope with, or confront an opponent or problem.
对 — 又 (hand) + 寸 (measure/rule)
Originally depicted a hand (又) holding or responding to something, with 寸 added as a phonetic-semantic element suggesting measured action. The traditional form 對 showed a hand presenting an object in reply, giving the core sense of 'to answer' or 'face toward.' Modern meanings like 'correct' and 'pair' grew from this idea of matching response.
付 — person radical 亻 + hand 寸
付 originally pictured a hand (寸) reaching out to hand something to a person (亻), depicting the act of giving or delivering. The core sense 'to hand over, deliver, pay' has remained stable since ancient bronze inscriptions. It also serves as a phonetic component in characters like 附, 符, and 府.