聘用
pìn yòng · HSK 7
to hire
🤝💼 聘 (recruit) + 用 (use) = recruit someone to use their skills = to hire
聘 carries the sense of formally engaging or recruiting a person; 用 means to use or employ. Together they mean taking someone on so their abilities can be put to use. Sound hook: pìn yòng — you pin down a hire, then put them to use.
聘 — ear 耳 + 甹 (phonetic)
聘 is a phono-semantic compound. The ear radical 耳 hints at meaning related to listening or formal communication, while 甹 supplies the sound. Originally it referred to a ceremonial visit or formal inquiry between states, later extending to engaging or hiring someone.
用 — pictograph of a bucket or wooden pail
用 originally depicted a bucket or container, possibly a sacrificial vessel made of wood. Over time it was borrowed to mean 'to use' or 'employ,' losing its concrete object sense. The modern meaning 'use' has been standard since early classical Chinese.