口令
koǔ lìng · HSK 7
oral command
🗣️🔑 口 mouth + 令 command = an order given by mouth; also a sentry's password
Decomposes as 口 (mouth) plus 令 (command/order). A 口令 is literally a command issued by mouth: the spoken order a drill instructor barks, or the password a sentry demands.
口 — pictograph of an open mouth
口 is one of the oldest pictographs in Chinese, originally drawn as a simple outline of an open mouth. Its core meaning 'mouth' extended naturally to 'opening' or 'entrance', as in 入口 (entrance). It also serves as a common radical in characters related to speech, eating, or apertures.
令 — person 人 (top) + kneeling figure 卩
Originally a pictograph showing a person under a roof issuing orders to a kneeling subordinate, depicting authority giving commands. The core meaning 'command, order' extended to 'cause/make (someone do something)' and later to honorific senses like 'good' or 'your' (令尊). The phonetic role in compounds like 零 and 铃 came later.