打牌
dǎ pái · HSK 6
to play mahjong or cards
🀄🃏 打 = hit/play + 牌 = tile/card
打 means 'to hit' or more broadly 'to play (a game)', and 牌 covers tiles and cards alike. So 打牌 literally means 'play tiles/cards' — used for mahjong, poker, or any card game.
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'.
牌 — 片 (slice/tablet) + 卑 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 片 'slice, thin board' gives the meaning of a flat tablet or plaque, while 卑 supplies the sound. Originally referred to wooden or bamboo tablets used as signs or labels, later extending to playing cards, brand names, and license plates.