接替
jiē tì · HSK 7
to replace
🔄 接 receive + 替 replace = receive the handover and replace someone in a post
接 means to take/receive a handover; 替 means to substitute for someone. Together: you receive the baton and take over the post the previous person left.
接 — hand 扌 + concubine 妾 (phonetic)
接 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 carries the meaning of receiving or joining with the hand, while 妾 supplies the sound. From 'taking with the hand' it broadened to 'receive, meet, connect, join together'.
替 — two 夫 (man) over 曰 (say)
Originally written with two 立 (stand) over 白, depicting two people side by side, suggesting replacement or alternation. The form evolved to two 夫 over 曰. The core meaning shifted from 'decline/abolish' to 'replace, substitute for'.