補

A phono-semantic compound:

衣 (“clothing”) — semantic element, showing the primary context of sewing and patching.

甫 (bo / fǔ, “large, great”) — phonetic element.

Originally referred to mending torn garments, then extended to mean filling gaps, making whole, or supplying what is lacking.

補衣 (보의) — to mend clothes

補助 (보조) — to assist, to subsidize

補充 (보충) — to supplement, to replenish

補償 (보상) — to compensate, to make amends

補救 (보구) — to remedy, to make up for

In Confucian texts, 補 can imply moral or administrative correction — to “patch over faults” or restore order.

In Daoist and medical texts, 補 frequently means to nourish or tonify (e.g., 補氣 “to replenish vital energy,” 補藥 “tonic medicine”).

The broader metaphor is that what is torn, lacking, or deficient can be made whole again through effort, aid, or supplementation.