培

A phono-semantic compound:

土 (earth, soil) — semantic component, clearly anchors the meaning in soil and agriculture

咅 (pǒu / bù) — sound component, provides pronunciation

The original meaning of 培 is “to heap soil around the base of a plant”, a common agricultural technique used to:

- protect roots

- stabilize growth

- promote healthy development

This is why the traditional Korean gloss emphasizes “북을 돋우다” rather than abstract encouragement.

From agriculture, the meaning expanded metaphorically to:

- nurturing people

- fostering abilities

- cultivating knowledge or culture

This metaphor follows a common pattern in Classical Chinese, where physical cultivation → moral or intellectual cultivation.

배양 (培養) — cultivation; incubation

인재를 배양하다 — to nurture talented people

토양을 배양하다 — to improve soil

Related characters:

養 — to raise; to nourish

育 — to bring up; to educate

植 — to plant

栽 — to cultivate; to plant

培養 (compound) — biological or agricultural cultivation