报仇
bào choú · HSK 7
to take revenge
⚔️ 報 report + 仇 enemy = report to your enemy (pay them back)
The first character 報 means to report or repay. The second 仇 means enemy or foe. Together they literally mean repay your enemy — i.e. get revenge. Sounds like BOW CHOSE — you bow, then choose your revenge.
报 — hand 扌 (报) + 卩 seal/kneeling figure
Originally 報 depicted a hand pressing a kneeling criminal under a manacle (幸 + 卩 + 又), meaning 'to judge' or 'requite a crime.' From 'repay/requite' it broadened to 'respond, report, announce.' The simplified form 报 keeps the hand 扌 and 卩 but drops the manacle element.
仇 — person radical 亻 + 九 jiǔ
A semantic-phonetic compound: 亻 (person) gives the meaning—something between people—while 九 supplies the sound. Originally it meant a partner or match, then shifted to mean enemy or hatred (read chóu). Read qiú, it survives as a surname preserving the older 'mate/companion' sense.