支払う
しはらう · shiharau · JLPT N3 · verb-godan
to pay
💴 支払う = 支 (branch out, support) + 払う (to pay, sweep away)
払う alone already means to pay, and also to sweep or brush off. 支 adds the sense of dispensing, as in 支出 (expenditure). Together: money branches out from you and is swept away. Sound hook: she-ha-ra-u, she has a row to pay.
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).