令人发指 (lìng rén fà zhǐ) — to make one's blood boil; to be outraged; extremely infuriating

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

In 令, the upper 亼 is an open mouth and the lower 卩 is a kneeling person, together showing someone giving orders.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

The left part 扌 is the hand form 手. The right part 旨 gives the sound.