票

Phono-semantic compound:

示/火 (불 화, “fire / sign element”) — semantic, originally depicting something burned or marked.

覀 (덮을 아, “cover”) — phonetic, providing the sound 표.

Graphically, it depicts fragments of paper or tallies, originally slips of wood or bamboo used for records and certification. Later it came to mean paper tickets or ballots.

투표 (投票) — to vote

표 (票) — ticket, ballot

입장표 (入場票) — admission ticket

승차표 (乘車票) — train/bus ticket

어음 (票據) — bill, promissory note

In ancient China, 票 referred to wooden tallies or slips used as proof of command or orders.

During the Song dynasty, it extended to financial notes (early paper money, 交子).

Today across East Asia, it is widely used for tickets, ballots, and voting systems, linking back to its origin as a slip or tally of record.