播放
bòfàng · HSK 3
broadcast
📻 播 = sow/spread + 放 = release; spread-and-release = broadcast
播 originally meant to sow seeds (扌hand scattering 番), now extended to scattering sound or signal. 放 is to let loose or release. Together: release content outward, i.e. broadcast or play media.
播 — hand 扌 + 番 (turn/spread, phonetic)
播 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 signals the action, while 番 (originally depicting a paw print, later 'turn' or 'in turn') gives the sound and hints at scattering or spreading. The original sense was sowing seeds by hand, broadcasting them across a field; this extended to today's meanings of broadcasting and disseminating.
放 — 方 (square/phonetic) + 攵 (rap/strike radical)
放 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 方 supplies the sound and 攵 (a hand holding a stick) supplies the meaning of striking or driving away. The original sense was to banish or drive out, which broadened over time to 'release', 'let go', and 'put down'.