申请
shēnqǐng · HSK 4
apply for
📝 申 = state/declare + 请 = request; together: formally request
申 means to state or declare (originally lightning, then 'to express'), and 请 means to request or invite. Combined, 申请 is to formally state a request — to apply for something like a job, visa, or permit.
请 — speech radical 讠 + 青 (qīng, blue/green)
请 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The speech radical 讠 (言) signals a meaning related to speaking, while 青 (qīng) supplies the sound. Originally it meant 'to ask' or 'request' through speech, and later extended to the polite 'please' and 'to invite'.