打包
dǎ bāo · HSK 5
to pack
📦 打 (hit/do) + 包 (wrap/package) = do-a-wrap, i.e. pack it up
打 is the all-purpose 'do/make' verb (打电话 make a call, 打车 hail a cab), and 包 is wrap/bundle/package. Together: 'do-a-wrap' — pack things up, or ask the waiter to bag your leftovers to go.
打 — hand radical 扌 + nail 丁
打 combines the hand radical 扌 (action with the hand) with 丁 (originally a nail), suggesting striking or hitting with the hand. 丁 also serves as a phonetic hint in older readings. The meaning broadened from 'to strike' to a general verb for many hand-based actions, like 打电话 'make a phone call'.
包 — 勹 wrap + 巳 fetus
包 is a pictograph showing a fetus (巳) wrapped inside a womb (勹, an enclosing shape). The original sense was 'to wrap' or 'enclose,' and it later extended to mean a bundle, package, or bag. It also serves as a phonetic component in many characters like 抱, 泡, and 饱.