万
wàn · HSK 2
thousand
🔟 万 = simplified from 萬, originally a scorpion; reassigned to mean 10,000
The ancient form 萬 depicted a scorpion, but the character was borrowed phonetically for the number 10,000. Modern 万 is the simplified shape. Common in 万岁 (wànsuì, long live) and 百万 (bǎiwàn, million).
万 — top 一 + 𠃌 (hook) over 丿
Originally a pictograph of a scorpion, used in oracle bone script. It was borrowed phonetically to mean 'ten thousand' and the original scorpion sense was lost. The traditional form 萬 shows the scorpion more clearly; 万 is a simplified variant long used as a common shorthand.