请进
qǐng jìn · HSK 1
'please come in'
🙏🚪 请 = please (ask politely) + 进 = enter; literally 'please enter'
请 (qǐng) is the polite 'please/invite' verb, built from 言 (speech) + 青 (phonetic). 进 (jìn) means 'advance/enter'. Together: a courteous invitation to step inside, said by hosts at the door.
请 — speech radical 讠 + 青 (qīng, blue/green)
请 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The speech radical 讠 (言) signals a meaning related to speaking, while 青 (qīng) supplies the sound. Originally it meant 'to ask' or 'request' through speech, and later extended to the polite 'please' and 'to invite'.
进 — walk radical 辶 + well 井
Originally a semantic-phonetic compound: the walking radical 辶 gives the meaning of movement, while 井 (jǐng, 'well') supplied the sound. The traditional form 進 used 隹 (short-tailed bird) suggesting forward flight; the simplified 进 swapped 隹 for the simpler phonetic 井. The core meaning 'to advance, enter' has stayed stable.