扶持
fú chí · HSK 7
to help
🤝 扶 (support by hand) + 持 (hold) = hold someone up, assist
扶 has 手 (hand) + 夫 (man) — a hand steadying a person. 持 has 手 (hand) + 寺 (temple, phonetic) — to hold or maintain. Together: hand-supporting + holding = sustaining help, like propping someone up.
扶 — hand radical 扌 + 夫 (fū, man)
扶 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 carries the meaning of supporting or helping with the hand, while 夫 supplies the sound 'fu'. The original sense was to steady or hold someone up by hand, which broadened to today's meanings of supporting, assisting, or propping up.
持 — hand 扌 + temple 寺 (phonetic)
持 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 carries the meaning 'to hold' or 'grasp', while 寺 supplies the sound (it once read close to chí). Originally depicting a hand holding something firmly, it broadened to mean 'maintain', 'support', or 'keep' over time.