三角
sān jiǎo · HSK 7
triangle
📐 三角 = 三 three + 角 corner/angle, a three-cornered shape
三 — three horizontal strokes 一 + 一 + 一
三 is a pictographic numeral: three stacked horizontal lines representing the number three, parallel to 一 (one) and 二 (two). The form has been stable since oracle bone script. It carries no phonetic component; the meaning 'three' is direct and visual.
角 — pictograph of a horn
角 is a pictograph of an animal's horn, with early oracle-bone forms clearly showing the curved, ridged shape of a horn. From 'horn' it extended to mean corner, angle, and by metaphor a role or part (as in a stage role). The reading jiǎo covers most of these senses.