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请qǐng

Character evolution

请

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Simplified · Today

Shuowen

Request. The character combines 言 (speech) as the semantic radical with 青 as the phonetic component, together expressing the act of making a polite request through words. In oracle bone and bronze inscriptions, this combination already conveyed the sense of asking or inviting someone, with the speech radical indicating that the meaning relates to verbal communication. The choice of 青 as the phonetic element gave the character its pronunciation while the 言 radical clarified its semantic domain of spoken requests.

Pinyin

qǐng· HSK 1