布满
bù mǎn · HSK 6
to be covered with
🌧️ 布 (cloth/spread) + 满 (full) = spread-full = covered all over
布 originally meant cloth, then by extension to spread/distribute. 满 means full or filled. Together: spread until full, i.e. covered with or filled with something across a whole surface.
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'.
满 — water 氵 + 㒼 (phonetic)
满 is a phono-semantic compound. The water radical 氵 gives the meaning, originally referring to a vessel filled to the brim with water, while 㒼 supplies the sound. From 'full of water' the sense broadened to 'full, filled, complete,' and later 'satisfied' or 'entirely.'