支払
しはらい · shiharai · JLPT N3 · noun
payment
💴 支払 = 支 (branch out, hand over) + 払 (pay, sweep away)
From the verb 支払う (shiharau), to pay. 払う alone means to pay or brush off; 支 adds the sense of dispensing. Sound hook: shi-HARAI, as in money you have to HAUL out and hand over. Seen on bills as お支払い.
支 — hand 又 holding a branch 十
Originally a pictograph showing a hand (又) holding a branch broken from a tree, depicting the act of supporting or propping something up. From this came meanings like 'branch,' 'to support,' and 'to pay out.' It also serves as a phonetic component in characters like 枝 (branch) and 技 (skill).