补
bǔ · HSK 3
mend
🧵 补 = 衣 (clothes) + 甫 (phonetic 'fǔ'); patch a torn robe
The 衤 radical (clothes) signals fabric repair, and 甫 carries the sound. Core sense is mending cloth, which broadened to patching gaps, supplementing, and nourishing a weakened body.
补 — clothes radical 衤 + 甫 (phonetic)
补 is a phono-semantic compound. The left side 衤 (clothes radical) gives the meaning, originally referring to patching or mending clothes. The right side 甫 supplies the sound. From 'mend a garment' the meaning broadened to 'repair, supplement, make up for'.