跑
pǎo · HSK 1
to run
🏃 足 (foot) + 包 (bao, wrap) — feet wrapping over ground = run
The 足 radical on the left marks foot-related verbs; 包 (bāo) gives the sound, close to pǎo. Same phonetic appears in 抱 bào (hug) and 饱 bǎo (full).
跑 — foot 足 + wrap 包
A semantic-phonetic compound. The foot radical 足 gives the meaning (an action done with the feet), while 包 (bāo) hints at the sound, shifted to pǎo. Originally it could mean an animal pawing the ground, later generalizing to 'run'.