报社
bào shè · HSK 7
newspaper (i.e. a company)
📰🏢 报 (report) + 社 (society/company) = report-company = newspaper office
The first character 报 means to report or announce. The second 社 means society, group, or company. Together they form the entity that produces news reports — a newspaper company or press agency.
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.
社 — 示 (altar/spirit) + 土 (earth)
Originally referred to the god of the soil and the altar where villagers worshipped it. The 示 component signals ritual or spirits, while 土 means earth, together evoking a community shrine. The meaning later broadened to 'community' and 'society'.