票

piào

示 + 覀

HSK 2.0Level 2

HSK 3.0Level 2

Definitions

piào (noun) ticket; entry pass

piào (noun) ballot; vote

piào (noun) banknote; paper currency

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. A remnant of 要 represents the sound and 火 represents the meaning. Based on the original meaning "leaping flames". The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

About

票 is a phonosemantic compound. The top part 覀, which looks like 西 but is actually a reduced form of 要 (yāo), gives the sound. The bottom part 示 was originally 火 'fire', signaling the meaning. The character's earliest sense was 'leaping flames', fire flying upward or sparks soaring. That original meaning disappeared entirely, and the character was borrowed to serve as a phonetic loan for slips of paper, documents, or certificates. Over time, its primary meanings settled on concrete printed items: tickets, banknotes, ballots, and receipts, marking a complete shift from a vivid physical action to objects used in transactions and authorization.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我需要一张门票。

Wǒ xūyào yī zhāng ménpiào.

I need an entrance ticket.

明天我去买火车票。

Míngtiān wǒ qù mǎi huǒchē piào.

Tomorrow I will go buy a train ticket.

如果下雨，我就不去投票。

Rúguǒ xià yǔ, wǒ jiù bù qù tóu piào.

If it rains, I won't go vote.

他收集了很多电影票。

Tā shōují le hěnduō diànyǐng piào.

He collected many movie tickets.

我昨天丢了机票，所以很着急。

Wǒ zuótiān diū le jīpiào, suǒyǐ hěn zháojí.

I lost my plane ticket yesterday, so I was very worried.

这张支票被银行拒收了。

Zhè zhāng zhīpiào bèi yínháng jùshōu le.

This check was rejected by the bank.

投票是公民的基本权利。

Tóu piào shì gōngmín de jīběn quánlì.

Voting is a basic right of citizens.

为了确保选举公正，每张选票都必须严格保密。

Wèile quèbǎo xuǎnjǔ gōngzhèng, měi zhāng xuǎnpiào dōu bìxū yángé bǎomì.

To ensure election fairness, every ballot must be strictly confidential.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 示

Component: 覀

票