请 (qǐng) — to ask politely, to request; to invite, to treat (to a meal, drink, etc.)

请 is the everyday polite word: 'please' (before a verb) or 'to invite / to treat' someone (e.g. 请客). Stronger, more formal requests use 请求 or 邀请.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 請; 请 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 請, 言 shows it relates to speaking, and 青 gives the sound; the simplified 请 is a later shorter form.