挣
zhēng , zhèng · HSK 5
to make
💪💰 扌(hand) + 争 (zhēng, to contend) — hand contending = struggle or earn
The hand radical 扌plus 争 'to contend, fight for' gives 挣: a hand fighting for something. Hence two senses: struggle to break free (挣扎) and strive to earn money (挣钱). The phonetic 争 also carries the zhēng/zhèng reading.
挣 — hand radical 扌 + 争 zhēng (phonetic)
挣 is a semantic-phonetic compound: the hand radical 扌 signals an action done with the hands, while 争 ('to contend, struggle') supplies the sound and reinforces the sense of effort. It originally meant to pull or struggle free, later extending to 'earn' (zhèng), as in earning money through hard work.