补课
bǔ kè · HSK 6
to make up missed lesson
📚 补 = patch/mend + 课 = lesson; patch up a missed lesson
补 means to mend or patch (think 'supplement'), and 课 is a lesson or class. Together they mean patching up a class you missed — a make-up lesson, or rescheduling one.
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'.
课 — speech radical 讠(言) + fruit/result 果
课 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left side 讠(言 'speech') gives the meaning, since the original sense involved oral examination or assessment. The right side 果 ('fruit, result') supplies the sound 'guǒ', which shifted to 'kè'. The meaning later broadened from 'test' to 'lesson' or 'class'.