找
zhǎo
Why change at the register is 找
The picture There is a gap somewhere, and your eyes go looking for the thing that fills it. 找 is eyes hunting for what isn't in hand yet; 拿 is the hand closing on what already is.
Where the picture shows up in 找
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hunt for what's missing
我在找我的手机。
wǒ zài zhǎo wǒ de shǒujī
I'm looking for my phone.
You turn out pockets and bags while your eyes sweep the room again and again.
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come hunting for a person
外面有人找你。
wàimiàn yǒu rén zhǎo nǐ
Someone's here to see you.
Someone stands at the door, peering inside, tracking one face in the room.
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hunt for something to fill the slot
我想找个工作。
wǒ xiǎng zhǎo ge gōngzuò
I'm trying to find a job.
One empty desk in your head, and your eyes run down the job listings line by line.
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hand back what's short
找您五块钱。
zhǎo nín wǔ kuài qián
Here's five yuan back.
You count out the difference between the note handed over and the price, and lay it back in their palm.
Your change is the gap between what you paid and the price, so Chinese fills it with 找.
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go to the person you need
这件事得找老板商量。
zhè jiàn shì děi zhǎo lǎobǎn shāngliang
You'll have to take this to the boss.
You walk all the way to the door of the one person who can settle this, and stand there.
All of it in one picture
找 is a gap plus the eyes hunting for what closes it. The phone-shaped gap sends your eyes around the room; the person-shaped gap sends a visitor peering through the door; the empty-desk gap sends you down the job listings. Change is the same picture — the gap between what you paid and what it cost, counted out and filled in, which is why Chinese hands it back with 找. So wherever 找 appears, something is short and someone is moving toward whatever fills it.