券
quàn · HSK 6
bond
📜✂️ A knife (刀) at the bottom splits the deed in two — one half per party
The bottom radical 刀 (knife) is literal: ancient contracts were bamboo slips cut in half. Each party kept one piece. Matching halves proved the deal was real.
券 — ⺉ knife radical + 龹 (phonetic top)
Originally written 券, depicting a tally cut with a knife (刀/⺉) into two halves so each party could keep proof of an agreement. The top element 龹 supplies the sound. From this 'split tally' sense it came to mean a certificate, ticket, or voucher.