令

(as noun) command, decree

(as honorific) polite prefix for others’ family members (e.g. 令尊 “your esteemed father”)

(rare) good, beautiful (seen in Japanese era name Reiwa 令和)

Ideogrammic compound:

亼 (jí, ‘to gather’) or interpreted as a roof, inverted 口 (mouth), or bell — representing a covering place / sound of announcement.

卩 (jié, ‘kneeling person, seal’) — denotes a subject kneeling in obedience.

Together, depicts “under a roof or by proclamation, a kneeling person receiving an order,” hence “to command, to cause.”

Graphical evolution:

Oracle bone / Bronze script (甲骨文·金文): figure of a person kneeling with something over them (commanding situation).

Seal script (篆書): stylized into current recognizable form.

Modern form: 人-like top element with 卩 below. Handwritten often uses a dot under 人 and writes 卩 as マ, which is the printed standard in mainland China.

命令 (명령) — order, command

令狐 (영호, Línghú) — surname

令尊 (영존) — your honored father (honorific)

令和 (영화, Reiwa) — Japanese era name, with 令 meaning “good, auspicious”

使令 (사령) — to order, to instruct