TSUMUGU · TOCFL 2 (est.) · 字
票
票 ＝ 覀 ＋ 示
ㄆㄧㄠˋ · piào
noun — a slip, ticket, ballot
字源 FORM — what the parts do
覀形the upper part — worn down from sparks risingrendered bare; the old fire-flying graph, now stylized
The old graph is fire flying up — 火飛也, sparks carried off a flame. Centuries of copying wore the fire away: the modern top (覀) and bottom (示) no longer read as flame, only its squared-off ghost. From sparks light enough to fly off, the sense lifts to a light slip of paper — a ticket (車票、機票), then a ballot (投票). 票 heads a sound family: 漂、飄、標、嫖.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
火苗一竄，火星往上飛——輕飄飄的，飄成了一張票。
The flame leaps, sparks fly up — light as air, drifting into a slip of paper.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
(本義)火飛、火星— flying sparks, rising fire
→車票、機票— ticket, slip常用
⇒投票、選票— ballot, vote
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension