释放
shìfàng · HSK 7
set free
🕊️ 释 (release/explain) + 放 (let go, put down) = release; set free
Both characters carry a let-go sense: 放 fàng is the everyday verb for putting down or letting loose, and 释 shì means to release or explain. Stacked together they reinforce each other into release; set free.
放 — 方 (square/phonetic) + 攵 (rap/strike radical)
放 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 方 supplies the sound and 攵 (a hand holding a stick) supplies the meaning of striking or driving away. The original sense was to banish or drive out, which broadened over time to 'release', 'let go', and 'put down'.