打扮
dǎbàn · HSK 5
dress/make up
💄 打扮 = hit/do (打) + dress-up (扮); literally 'do up' one's appearance
打 here means 'to do/perform' (as in 打电话 'make a call'), and 扮 means 'to play a role / dress up'. Together 打扮 = to do oneself up, get dressed up, or pose as someone.
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'.
扮 — hand radical 扌 + 分 (fēn, divide)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 signals an action done with the hands, while 分 (fēn) supplies the sound, shifted to bàn. The original sense was to dress up or disguise—using one's hands to alter appearance—extending to 'play the role of' as in 扮演.