抽奖
choū jiǎng · HSK 4
to draw a prize
🎟️🎰 抽 = draw/pull + 奖 = prize/award
抽 means to pull or draw out (same character as in 抽烟 'smoke a cigarette' = pull smoke). 奖 means prize or award. Together: pull-a-prize = lottery or raffle drawing.
抽 — hand radical 扌 + 由 yóu (phonetic)
抽 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 gives the meaning—an action done with the hand—while 由 supplies the sound (yóu → chōu). The original sense was to pull or draw out by hand, which extends to modern meanings like 'extract', 'draw (a lot)', or 'take time out'.
奖 — 将 jiāng (phonetic) + 大 (big)
Originally written 獎 with 犬 (dog) below 將, suggesting urging a dog onward—hence 'encourage, exhort.' The simplified form replaces 犬 with 大. Meaning extended from 'encourage' to 'reward' and then to 'prize, award.'