strike, beat, kow tow, hit, thrash, criticize
叩 centers on striking or beating something, whether physically hitting, knocking, or figuratively criticizing. The kow tow sense is a specific cultural application of lowering oneself by striking the ground.
叩 combines 口 (mouth) and 卩 (a kneeling person), suggesting a person bowing and striking the ground, or possibly a phonetic component. The exact historical development is uncertain.
A mouth 口 beside a kneeling person 卩: imagine someone bowing so low their mouth nearly hits the ground, striking it in a kow tow.
For コウ, picture a person kow towing so hard they make a loud 'koh!' sound as they strike the ground: koh -> コウ.
to strike; to hit; to beat; to knock; to pound; to bang; to slap; to spank; to tap; to pat; to clap (one's hands); to play (the drums)
finely chopped fish or meat (sometimes seared first); mince
(feather) duster
to drive into (e.g. a nail into a board); to hit into (e.g. a home run into the stands)
beating someone up by ganging up on them
to throw violently against; to slam against; to strike; to slap something onto; to dash (e.g. to the floor)
working one's way up
hatakikomi; slapdown
to beat; to batter; to pummel
(game of) whack-a-mole; whac-a-mole
fly swatter; flyswatter; fly swat
to speak brazenly; to never shut up
talking a lot; talkative person
to knock down; to beat up (till unable to stand)
to dust (shelves, etc.); to use a duster
to work one's way up
to knock down; to utterly defeat
to begin to strike
equal split; splitting evenly
to hack; to chop (firewood, meat, etc.); to chop off (e.g. a head)