耕
gēng · HSK 4
to plow
🚜 耕 = 耒 (plow tool) + 井 (well-field grid) — plowing the fields
The left radical 耒 depicts an ancient wooden plow. The right side 井 shows the grid of a well-field land division. Together: working a plow across divided farmland — to till.
耕 — plow 耒 + well 井
耕 is a semantic compound. The left side 耒 depicts an ancient wooden plow, and the right side 井 (a well, also suggesting the grid of a 'well-field' land system) hints at cultivated fields. Together they mean to plow or till the land for farming.