谁
shéi · HSK 1
who
谁 = 讠(speech) + 隹(short-tailed bird); asking 'who?' in words
The 讠 radical marks speech-related characters, and 隹 (zhuī) is a short-tailed bird that also lends a rough phonetic hint. Together they form the question word for 'who?' — a spoken inquiry about a person.
谁 — speech radical 言 + short-tailed bird 隹
A semantic-phonetic compound: 言 (speech) gives the meaning 'to ask/say,' while 隹 (a short-tailed bird) supplied the ancient sound. Originally meaning 'to question,' it was borrowed for the interrogative pronoun 'who,' which became its dominant modern use.
shéi · HSK 1
who
谁 = 讠 (speech) + 隹 (short-tailed bird); asking 'who?' through words
The radical 讠 marks speech/asking, and 隹 (zhuī) is a phonetic component meaning short-tailed bird. Together: a spoken question — who? Modern shéi/shuí both work; shéi is the colloquial reading.
谁 — speech radical 言 + short-tailed bird 隹
A semantic-phonetic compound: 言 (speech) gives the meaning 'to ask/say,' while 隹 (a short-tailed bird) supplied the ancient sound. Originally meaning 'to question,' it was borrowed for the interrogative pronoun 'who,' which became its dominant modern use.