驾照

Etymology & Components

The Chinese word 驾照 (jiàzhào) for "driver's license" is composed of two characters: 驾 (jià) and 照 (zhào). The character 驾 originally meant "to drive a horse-drawn carriage" and later extended to mean "to drive a vehicle". It is composed of the radical 马 (mǎ), which means "horse", and the phonetic component 夹 (jiā). The character 照 originally meant "to shine" or "to illuminate" and later extended to mean "to take a photograph" or "to issue a certificate". It is composed of the radical 火 (huǒ), which means "fire", and the phonetic component 卓 (zhuó). When combined, the two characters 驾 and 照 form the word 驾照, which specifically refers to a "driver's license".