指
zhǐ · HSK 3
refer to
👉 扌(hand) + 旨 (zhǐ, intent) — hand showing intent = point/refer
扌 is the hand radical; 旨 supplies the zhǐ sound and the sense of intent or purpose. A hand expressing intent literally points at or refers to something. Common in 指向 (point toward) and 手指 (finger).
指 — hand radical 扌 + 旨 (zhǐ, phonetic)
指 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 gives the meaning — something done with the hand, namely pointing with a finger. 旨 supplies the sound 'zhǐ'. From 'finger' it naturally extended to the verb 'to point' and figurative senses like 'to indicate' or 'to refer to'.