Traditional characters 10

鐘 zhōng : bell, clock; used to count minutes (分鐘 fēn zhōng).

Stroke order:

Components : 釒 jīn metal (metal radical, on the left); 童 tóng child (on the right, phonetic element).

Etymology : 鐘 is a phono-semantic compound. The metal radical 釒 (compressed variant of 金) indicates that it is a metal object, and 童 tóng provides the pronunciation. Originally, the character referred to a metal bell used as a ritual musical instrument. By extension, it took on the meaning of "clock" (an instrument that strikes the hours) and is used to count minutes: 分鐘 fēn zhōng. The simplification 钟 replaced 童 with 中 zhōng (another phonetic).

現 xiàn : (now). 現在 xiànzài : now.

Stroke order:

Components : 王 king, jade; 見 to see, to glimpse. Originally, 現 symbolized a visible jewel, evolving toward the meanings of to appear, present.

話 huà : speech

Stroke order:

Components : 訁 speech; 舌 the tongue (the organ). Originally, it symbolized the action of to speak or to discuss, associating speech (訁) with the organ of the tongue.

課 kè : lesson, class

Stroke order:

Components : 訁 speech; 果 fruit.
Etymology : The traditional character 課 kè is a phono-semantic compound made up of the semantic component 言 yán (speech) and the phonetic component 果 guǒ (fruit/result). It originally evoked the idea of checking accounts or examining results, linked to administration. The meaning evolved toward "lesson" by extension of the idea ofan assessed teaching unit. The simplified form 課 keeps this structure while simplifying 言 into 訁.

習 xí : to practice, to train, to study.

Stroke order:

Components : 羽 yǔ feathers, two wings (at the top); 白 bái white (at the bottom, originally a variant of 日 sun).

Etymology : 習 is an ideogram. Originally, it depicted a bird flapping its wings 羽 above the sun 日 (which became 白 in the modern form), evoking a young bird practicing flying day after day. By extension, 習 came to mean "to train, to practice, to study", as in 學習 xuéxí "to study" or 習慣 xíguàn "habit". The repetition needed for learning is like the bird training to master its flight.