扑
pū · HSK 6
throw oneself at
🐱 pū is the soft thud of a cat pouncing — pat, rush, tackle
扌(hand) + 卜 (divination). The hand radical signals physical contact. Say pū aloud — it sounds like the muffled thump of palms or paws landing on a target.
扑 — hand radical 扌 + 卜 (bǔ, phonetic)
扑 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 signals an action done with the hand, while 卜 (bǔ) supplies the sound. The original meaning was to strike, hit, or pounce on something with the hand, later extended to flapping, beating, or rushing toward.