打卡
dǎ kǎ · HSK 5
to clock in
📱✅ 打 = hit/strike + 卡 = card; literally hit the card to clock in
打 means to hit or strike, 卡 means card (loanword from English). Originally meant punching a physical time card at work; now also used for checking in on social media or marking daily habits.
打 — hand radical 扌 + nail 丁
打 combines the hand radical 扌 (action with the hand) with 丁 (originally a nail), suggesting striking or hitting with the hand. 丁 also serves as a phonetic hint in older readings. The meaning broadened from 'to strike' to a general verb for many hand-based actions, like 打电话 'make a phone call'.
卡 — 上 (up) + 下 (down)
卡 is a modern compound formed by stacking 上 'up' on 下 'down', visually depicting something stuck between two positions — neither up nor down. From this 'wedged' image come its core meanings: to block, to get stuck, and a checkpoint or card. The reading kǎ also transcribes foreign words like 'card', while qiǎ keeps the older 'pinch/stuck' sense.