扫
sǎo , sào · HSK 4
to sweep
🧹 扫 = 扌(hand) + 彐(broom head): a hand sweeping with a broom
The radical 扌 marks hand actions, and 彐 is a stylised broom head. Together: a hand wielding a broom — to sweep. Second tone sào shifts the meaning to broom-related compounds like 扫帚 (broom).
扫 — hand radical 扌 + broom 帚
A semantic compound: the hand radical 扌 shows the action, while 帚 (broom) gives both the meaning and an approximate sound. The original picture of 帚 depicts a broom held upright, so 扫 literally means 'to wield a broom,' i.e. to sweep.