更新
gēngxīn · HSK 5
renew
🔄 更 (change/renew) + 新 (new) = renew, make new again
更 means to change or alter, 新 means new. Together: change-to-new, i.e. renew or replace. Common for software updates (软件更新) and refreshing/replacing things.
更 — 丙 (bǐng) phonetic + 攴/攵 (action/strike)
Originally an oracle-bone graph showing a hand striking a watch-drum to mark night watches, hence 'to change shifts.' From this came the meanings 'to change' and 'to replace' (gēng). The reading gèng later developed the sense 'further, even more,' as in 'one watch further on.'
新 — 立 stand + 木 tree + 斤 axe
Originally depicted cutting fresh wood with an axe (斤) from a tree (木), with 辛/立 as the phonetic component. The original meaning of 'firewood' was later written as 薪, while 新 took on the extended sense of 'new' or 'fresh'.