解答
jiědá · HSK 7
answer
✅ 解答 = 解 solve + 答 reply: the worked-out reply that solves a question
解 means untie or solve, 答 means reply or answer. Together they name the full reply that resolves a problem, like a solution written out on an exam. da echoes the da in 答 reply.
解 — horn 角 + knife 刀 + ox 牛
解 is an ideograph showing hands using a knife (刀) to separate the horn (角) from an ox (牛). The original meaning was to butcher or dismember an ox, which broadened to 'untie, separate, loosen,' and then extended figuratively to 'explain' or 'understand'—to take something apart mentally.
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.