划
huá , huà · HSK 4
to cut
✂️ 划 = 戈 (dagger-axe) + 刂 (knife) — two blades, one slashing motion
The 戈 component is an ancient dagger-axe weapon; 刂 is the knife radical (a vertical form of 刀). Together they reinforce the core sense: a cutting or slashing stroke. Same character also reads huà for planning (a stroke of the brush).
划 — knife radical 刂 + 戈 (dagger-axe)
Originally written 劃, a semantic-phonetic compound: 刂 (knife) gives the meaning of cutting or marking, while 畫 supplied the sound and the sense of drawing lines. The simplified form 划 reuses an older character meaning to row a boat. Today it covers both senses: huá (to row, to scratch) and huà (to mark off, to plan).