Example sentences
xiè谢xie谢nǐ你de的bāng帮zhù助。
Thanks for your help.
hù互xiāng相bāng帮zhù助。
Help each other.
About this word
帮 and 助 both mean "to help", so 帮助 is a pair of near-synonyms welded into one two-syllable word, a pattern Chinese leans on constantly (朋友, 看见, 美丽). It works as verb and noun: 谢谢你的帮助, 他帮助了我. In conversation people often reach for 帮忙 instead, which splits and takes its object outside: 帮我一个忙. 帮助 is the safer choice in writing or with strangers.
The story behind the character
帮
幫 was a shoe. The traditional form is 封 over 帛, cloth, and the old rhyme books gloss it as 治履邊也: cloth finishing the edge of a shoe. That is the 鞋帮, the upper. From there it was a short step to supporting a person. The simplified 帮 swapped in 邦 for the sound and 巾 for the cloth. 帮助 is a shoe edge that learned to lend a hand.
助
力, strength, on the right, with 且 on the left giving the sound. Xu Shen defined 助 with a character you already know: 助, 左也. Left, because 左 originally meant to lend a hand, and 助 picked up the same job. Strength plus a sound-alike, meaning you add your muscle to someone else's problem. 帮助, 助手, 互助.