招

The Chinese character 招 (zhāo) is composed of two parts: the radical 扌(shǒu), which indicates a hand, and the phonetic component 爪 (zhǎo), which means "claw". The original meaning of 招 is "to beckon with the hand", which is extended to mean "to invite", "to call", or "to recruit".The character 招 can be traced back to the oracle bone script, which is the earliest form of Chinese writing. In the oracle bone script, 招 is depicted as a hand with a claw-like shape, which is consistent with its original meaning of "to beckon with the hand".Over time, the character 招 has evolved in its form and meaning. In the seal script, which is a later form of Chinese writing, 招 is simplified to its current form. The phonetic component 爪 is replaced by a simplified form that resembles the character 刀 (dāo), which means "knife". This change in the phonetic component does not affect the pronunciation of 招, but it makes the character easier to write.In modern Chinese, 招 is commonly used in words related to inviting, calling, or recruiting. For example, 招待 (zhāodài) means "to entertain guests", 招聘 (zhaopìn) means "to recruit employees", and 招手 (zhaoshǒu) means "to wave one's hand".