拿到
nádào · HSK 2
get
✋ 拿 = hand grabbing + 到 = arrive; the grab arrives at its target
拿 (ná) shows 合 over 手, a hand closing on something. 到 (dào) means to reach or arrive. Together: the grabbing reaches completion — you've got it in hand.
拿 — hand 手 + combine 合
拿 is a semantic compound: 合 (combine, bring together) sits over 手 (hand), giving the idea of hands joining to grasp something. It is a relatively late character that replaced the older 拏 in the meaning 'to take, hold, or seize.' Today it broadly means to take or hold in the hand.
到 — 刂 knife + 至 (phonetic, 'arrive')
到 is a semantic-phonetic compound. 至 ('to arrive') gives both meaning and sound, while 刂 (knife) was added later, likely as a phonetic reinforcer or to distinguish the written form. The core sense 'to arrive, reach' comes directly from 至, and 到 has carried that meaning since early script forms.