请问
qǐngwèn · HSK 1
Excuse me
🙋 请 (please) + 问 (ask) = polite 'may I ask'
请 means please/invite; 问 means to ask (mouth 口 at a door 门 — words crossing a threshold). Together they form the polite opener 'excuse me, may I ask...?', softer than just 问.
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'.
问 — gate 门 (phonetic) + mouth 口 (semantic)
问 is a phono-semantic compound. The 口 (mouth) on the inside gives the meaning—using the mouth to ask—while 门 (gate/door) supplies the sound, close to 'mén/wèn'. The traditional form 問 places 口 inside 門, vividly suggesting speaking through a doorway to inquire.