八
bā · HSK 1
eight
✋✌️ 八 = 'bā', the number 8; shape splits into two strokes like fingers parting
Originally an oracle-bone pictograph of two lines diverging, meaning 'to divide'. It was later borrowed for the number eight. Hand cue: five fingers on one hand plus three on the other (✋ + ✌️+1) totals 8.
八 — two strokes diverging outward
Originally a pictograph of two lines splitting apart, meaning 'to divide' or 'separate.' It was later borrowed phonetically to write the number eight, and this borrowed numerical sense became dominant. The original 'divide' meaning survives in compounds like 分.