拍
pāi · HSK 3
clap
👏 sounds like 'pie' — slap a pie, that's a 拍
拍 pāi covers clapping hands and patting/slapping with the palm. The 扌 (hand) radical on the left signals a hand action; the right side 白 (bái) gives the rough sound — pāi rhymes with bái.
拍 — hand radical 扌 + white 白
A semantic-phonetic compound: the hand radical 扌 gives the meaning (an action done with the hand, namely clapping or striking), while 白 (bái) supplies the phonetic clue for pāi. The original sense was to slap or pat with the open hand, later extending to beat (as in musical rhythm) and to take a photograph.