Several parts combine into one character.

助 is a compound ideograph: 且 (qiě, "moreover / cutting board / sacrificial stand") + 力 (power / effort). The composite reads as "to add one's power alongside, like a supporting platform" = to help. The 且 component, originally a stand or platform that bears weight, contributes the meaning of "supporting from beside." The 力 (power) radical anchors a family of effort-related characters: 助 (help), 勇 (courage), 動 (move), 勝 (win), 勉 (exert oneself).

Korean reading "jo." 助力 (joryeok, assistance / supporting power), 援助 (wonjo, aid / relief — used in disaster aid and international development contexts: "foreign aid"), 助産 (josan, midwifery), 補助 (bojo, subsidy / supplementary aid — used in financial subsidies), 協助 (hyeopjo, cooperation), 相助 (sangjo, mutual aid). The Korean expression (sangbu sangjo, "mutual aid above and below") describes traditional village cooperation networks.

Mandarin zhù, 4th tone. 助 (zhù), 帮助 (bāngzhù, "to assist-help" = to help — extremely high-frequency verb in spoken Chinese; the most common way to say "help"), 援助 (yuánzhù, aid), 助手 (zhùshǒu, "help-hand" = assistant), 助理 (zhùlǐ, assistant manager / aide). 帮助 is essential vocabulary from week one.

Japanese on-reading ジョ (jo) — 助手 (joshu, assistant — academic position: research assistant), 援助 (enjo, aid), 補助 (hojo, supplementary support), 助言 (jogen, advice / counsel). Two kun-readings split active and passive aid: 助ける (tasukeru, "to help" — the act of helping) and 助かる (tasukaru, "to be helped / to be saved" — the experience of receiving help, with the additional meaning of "to survive" in life-threatening contexts). The Japanese expression 助かりました (tasukarimashita, "I was helped / I was saved") is a graceful formal way to express gratitude beyond simple ありがとう — used when someone's help has genuinely made a difference.

Memory aid: a supporting stand (且) plus power (力) — adding force from beside, like a buttress = help.