投射
toú shè · HSK 7
to cast
🔦🏹 投 throw + 射 shoot = to throw or cast — a beam of light or a projectile sent out
投 (throw/cast) plus 射 (shoot, as an arrow) combine into one verb for sending something outward: a thrown object, or light cast onto a surface. Sound: toú shè, with the 'sh' echoing 'shoot'.
投 — hand radical 扌 + weapon 殳
Originally a pictograph of a hand (扌) throwing or hurling a weapon or staff (殳). The core meaning 'to throw, cast, hurl' extended over time to figurative senses like 'to invest,' 'to deliver,' or 'to throw oneself into' something.
射 — body 身 + inch/hand 寸
Originally a pictograph of a hand drawing a bow with an arrow. The ancient form showed 弓 (bow) plus 矢 (arrow) or a hand. Over time it was reshaped into 身 (body) plus 寸 (hand/measure), and the meaning 'to shoot' was extended to 'emit' or 'project'.