打针
dǎ zhēn · HSK 4
to give or have an injection
💉 打 = hit/strike + 针 = needle
Literally hit-needle: 打 covers many action verbs (打电话 make a call, 打球 play ball), and 针 is the needle itself. Works for both giving and receiving an injection.
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'.
针 — metal radical 钅 + 十 (ten, phonetic)
针 means 'needle.' The metal radical 钅 (simplified from 金) shows the needle is made of metal, while 十 originally hinted at the sound. The traditional form 針 uses 咸-like phonetic 咸→ actually 十 served as a simplified phonetic. Over time it came to mean needle, pin, or injection.