招待
zhāodài · HSK 7
receive
🤝 招 beckon + 待 treat = beckon guests in and treat them well
招 is the beckon/invite hand, 待 is to wait on or treat someone. Together: you wave guests in and attend to them, so it means to receive guests or serve customers.
招 — hand radical 扌 + 召 (call)
招 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 supplies the meaning—an action done with the hand—while 召 (to summon, call) gives both phonetic value and reinforces the sense. Together they depict beckoning someone with a hand gesture, extended to 'recruit' or 'attract'.
待 — chì 彳 (step) + 寺 sì (temple/phonetic)
待 combines the 'step' radical 彳, suggesting movement or a path, with 寺, which serves as the phonetic component. Originally it conveyed the idea of stopping along a road, which extended to 'waiting.' Over time it also took on related meanings like 'to treat' or 'to deal with' someone.