答案
dáàn · HSK 4
answer
📝✅ 答 = reply + 案 = case/file → reply to the case = answer
答 means to reply or respond; 案 means a case, record, or file. Together 答案 is the reply written on the case file — the answer or solution. Common in 标准答案 (standard answer) for tests.
答 — bamboo radical 竹 + 合 (combine)
Originally written with the bamboo radical because answers were inscribed on bamboo slips. The phonetic 合 ('to join, match') gives both the sound and the sense of a reply 'matching' a question. Over time 答 came to mean 'answer' or 'respond' generally.