书
shū · HSK 1
book
📖 书 shū sounds like 'shoe' — and a book is the sole companion of a reader
Etymology: 书 originally depicted a hand 聿 holding a writing brush over 曰 (to speak/say) — literally what is written down. The simplified form keeps just the brush-and-stroke skeleton.
书 — hand 又 holding brush over 曰 (say/speak)
Originally a pictograph of a hand gripping a writing brush above a mouth or vessel, depicting the act of writing speech down. The traditional form 書 shows 聿 (brush) over 曰 (to say). Simplified 书 preserves the brush-in-hand shape, and the meaning extended from 'to write' to 'writing' and then 'book'.