赡养

shàn yǎng · HSK 7

to support

👵💰 赡 provide-for + 养 raise; together = financially support aging parents

养 is the same raise/nurture as in feeding and rearing; 赡 adds the sense of providing material means. 赡养 is the legal-flavored word for grown children maintaining their elderly parents.

养 — sheep 羊 (top) + 八 over 艮-like base; simplified from 養 (食 + 羊)
The traditional form 養 combined 食 'food' with 羊 'sheep' as the phonetic, depicting the act of feeding sheep and, by extension, raising or nourishing living things. The simplified form 养 keeps 羊 on top but drops the 食 component. From 'feed' the meaning broadened to rear, support, and cultivate.

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