追求
zhuīqiú · HSK 4
pursue
🏃 追 = chase + 求 = request/seek; chase-and-ask = pursue or woo
追 means chase or pursue; 求 means seek, request, or beg. Together they mean to pursue something actively — a goal, a dream, or romantically courting someone. Think chase-plus-ask: you go after it and you ask for it.
追 — 辶 (walk) + 𠂤 (small mound/heap)
Originally a semantic-phonetic compound: 辶 ('walk/movement') gives the meaning of going after something, while 𠂤 supplied the ancient sound. Early bronze inscriptions show it meaning to chase or pursue an enemy. The modern senses — 'pursue,' 'chase after,' 'retroactively' — all extend from this original idea of following in motion.
求 — pictograph of a fur garment
求 originally depicted a fur coat or pelt, with hairs hanging from the sides. It was later borrowed phonetically to mean 'seek' or 'request,' and the original 'fur' meaning was taken over by 裘. Today 求 almost always means to seek, beg, or pursue.