海报
hǎibào · HSK 6
poster
📰 sea + report = a poster reporting news from the sea of information
海 means sea, 报 means report or announce. A poster is literally a sea-report — a broadsheet that announces or reports something to the public, like a wave of info washing over passersby.
海 — water radical 氵 + 每 (phonetic)
海 is a phono-semantic compound. The 氵 (water) radical signals the meaning—a vast body of water—while 每 supplies the sound. Originally referring to the sea or ocean, it later extended figuratively to mean 'vast' or 'a great quantity,' as in 人海 (a sea of people).
报 — hand 扌 (报) + 卩 seal/kneeling figure
Originally 報 depicted a hand pressing a kneeling criminal under a manacle (幸 + 卩 + 又), meaning 'to judge' or 'requite a crime.' From 'repay/requite' it broadened to 'respond, report, announce.' The simplified form 报 keeps the hand 扌 and 卩 but drops the manacle element.