Traditional characters 9

號 hào : number, day of the month (spoken).

Stroke order:

Components : 号 hào cry (on the left) — composed of 口 (mouth) and 丂 (exhalation); 虎 hǔ tiger (on the right, phonetic element).

Etymology : 號 is a phono-semantic compound. The left part 号 evokes a mouth 口 emitting a sound 丂, and the right part 虎 hǔ (tiger) provides the pronunciation. The character originally represented a powerful roar. By extension, 號 it became “cry, call”, then “mark, number” (a distinctive sign). In everyday use, it is used for the day of the month: 幾號 jǐ hào “what day?”. The simplification 号 removed the phonetic part 虎.

時 shí : time, moment, hour.

Stroke order:

Components : 日 rì sun (on the left); 寺 sì temple, monastery (on the right, phonetic element).

Etymology : 時 is a phono-semantic compound. The sun radical 日 indicates the original meaning: the seasons, the solar cycles, the passing of time. The right part 寺 sì serves as a phonetic indicator. By extension, 時 refers to time in general, a moment, an hour. The simplification 时 replaced the right part with 寸 cùn (inch).

讀 dú : to read, to study

Stroke order:

Components : 訁 speech; 賣 to sell.
Etymology : 讀 dú is composed of 訁 yán (speech, simplified form of 言) and of 賣 mài (to sell). Originally, it represented the act of reading aloud as when selling at the market.

來 lái : to come.

Stroke order:

Components : pictogram representing an ear of wheat (with the awns and the grains).

Etymology : 來 is originally a pictogram representing a ripe ear of wheat, with the spikelets hanging down on each side of the stalk. The character was then borrowed phonetically for the meaning of “to come” — its strokes evoking a forward movement. The original meaning of “wheat” was taken over by the character 麥 mài (簡 麦). The simplification 来 slightly reduced the number of inner strokes.