指摘
してき · shiteki · JLPT N1 · noun
pointing out
🔍 指 finger + 摘 pick out: a finger that picks out a fault, so it means pointing out
Both characters relate to pointing. 指 is finger and 摘 is to pluck or pick out. Together they mean naming a fault (criticism) or identifying a target precisely.
指 — hand radical 扌 + 旨 (zhǐ, phonetic)
指 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 gives the meaning — something done with the hand, namely pointing with a finger. 旨 supplies the sound 'zhǐ'. From 'finger' it naturally extended to the verb 'to point' and figurative senses like 'to indicate' or 'to refer to'.
摘 — hand radical 扌 + 啇 (dí, phonetic)
摘 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The hand radical 扌 signals the meaning—an action done with the hand, namely plucking or picking (fruit, flowers). The right side 啇 supplies the sound, historically close to 'zhāi'. From 'pluck' it extended to 'select' or 'extract', as in 摘要 (summary, literally 'plucked essentials').