抄写
chāo xiě · HSK 4
to copy
📝 抄写 = 抄 (copy) + 写 (write)
抄 means to copy or transcribe, 写 means to write. Together they form a compound meaning to copy out by hand — transcribing text word for word onto paper.
抄 — hand radical 扌 + 少 (shǎo, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: the hand radical 扌 signals an action done by hand, while 少 supplies the sound. The original sense was to grab or scoop up by hand, which extended to 'copy out' (transcribe by hand) and later to stir-frying — quickly tossing food with a hand motion.
写 — 宀 roof + 与 (phonetic, simplified from 寫)
Originally 寫 depicted placing something under a roof (宀), extended to mean 'to set down' and then 'to write/copy'. The simplified form 写 keeps the roof but replaces the complex inner element with 与, which also hints at the sound. Today it broadly means 'to write' or 'to depict'.