要求
ようきゅう · youkyuu · JLPT N3 · noun
request
📝 要求 = need (要) + seek (求): you need it, so you ask for it
要 means to need or want, and 求 means to seek or beg for. Put together, they make a firm request or demand. You will meet 要 again in 必要 (necessary), and 求 again in 求人 (job opening, literally seeking people).
要 — west 覀 (top) + woman 女 (bottom)
Originally a pictograph of a woman with hands on her waist, meaning 'waist' (the original form of 腰). The top 覀 is a stylized depiction of the waist area, not the character for 'west'. Over time it was borrowed for the meaning 'to want, important', so 腰 (with 月 flesh radical) was created for the original 'waist' sense.
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.