讽刺
fèngcì · HSK 7
satirize
🎭 讽 (satirize) + 刺 (stab) = verbal jabs that mock
讽 carries the speech radical 讠 plus 风 (wind) — words on the wind. 刺 means to pierce or stab. Together: piercing speech aimed to ridicule. The 刺 also appears in 刺激 (stimulate), keeping the sharp-jab sense consistent.
刺 — thorn 朿 (phonetic) + knife 刂 (meaning)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The knife radical 刂 carries the meaning of cutting or piercing, while 朿 (a thorn) supplies both the sound and reinforces the idea of something sharp. Original sense was 'to stab' or 'pierce', later extended to 'thorn', 'sting', and figuratively 'to criticize sharply'.