to send out

to show (one's feeling); to issue; to develop; to make a bundle of money; classifier for gunshots (rounds)

a picture of 发 → a hand releasing, sending out

The modern simplified 发 merges two older characters: one meaning to shoot or release, and one meaning hair. The hand grasping and releasing captures the core sense of sending something outward into the world.

The right handSemantic

Words with 发

哈里发国

hā lǐ fā guó

caliphate

卷发

juǎn fà

curly hair

发怒

fā nù

to get angry

发牌

fā pái

to deal (cards)

萌发

méng fā

to sprout

逗人发笑

dòu rén fā xiào

to make people laugh

连发

lián fā

to fire (a weapon) in rapid succession

进发

jìn fā

(of a group of people or a convoy of vehicles) to set off

迟发性损伤

chí fā xìng sǔn shāng

delayed lesion

配发

pèi fā

to issue

金发

jīn fà

blond

金发碧眼

jīn fà bì yǎn

fair-haired and blue-eyed

More characters with 又