拨打
bō dǎ · HSK 6
to call
📞 拨打 = pluck/dial + strike → dial and call
拨 (bō) means to pluck, stir, or dial (as on a rotary phone); 打 (dǎ) means to hit or strike, and broadly to do/make a call. Together 拨打 is the formal verb for dialing a phone number.
拨 — hand radical 扌 + 发 (fā/fà)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 signals a meaning related to manual action — pushing, stirring, or moving aside. The right side 发 originally provided the sound. Together 拨 means to push aside, pluck, or dial with the hand.
打 — hand radical 扌 + nail 丁
打 combines the hand radical 扌 (action with the hand) with 丁 (originally a nail), suggesting striking or hitting with the hand. 丁 also serves as a phonetic hint in older readings. The meaning broadened from 'to strike' to a general verb for many hand-based actions, like 打电话 'make a phone call'.