签 (qiān) · to sign (one's name)

Meanings

1 to sign (one's name)
2 bamboo slip; label; lot (for drawing)

Characters

签

qiān

to sign; label; stick

Examples

HSK 2

请在这里签个名。

Qǐng zài zhèlǐ qiān ge míng.

Please sign your name here.

HSK 3

牙签放在桌子上。

Yáqiān fàngzài zhuōzi shàng.

The toothpicks are on the table.

HSK 5

我们去抽签决定顺序吧。

Wǒmen qù chōuqiān juédìng shùnxù ba.

Let's draw lots to decide the order.

Tips

usage

签 is the core character in many signing-related words: 签名 (sign name), 签字 (sign), 签约 (sign contract), 签证 (visa), 签订 (sign / conclude).

usage

As a noun, 签 appears in: 书签 (bookmark), 牙签 (toothpick), 标签 (label / tag).

Components

radical

⺮ zhú

bamboo (top radical form)

Top bamboo radical - squashed-down form of 竹 used when bamboo sits on top. The indexing radical of 签 (Kangxi #118). Carries the literal etymology: the original 簽 was a bamboo strip used as a tally, label, or sign-in slip. Same radical anchors 笔 (brush), 笑 (laugh), 答 (reply), 简 (bamboo strip, letter) - the entire bamboo-implement family.

phonetic

佥 qiān

all; together

Bottom component supplies the sound (qiān, exact match) and was originally the simplification of 僉, a picture of multiple mouths under a roof - "all together." Faint semantic echo: signing a tally was an act multiple parties performed together, and the bamboo strip carried all their names. Same phonetic in 检 (check), 险 (danger), 验 (test), 剑 (sword) - the entire qiān/yàn/jiǎn family.