折扣
zhékòu · HSK 7
discount
🏷️ 折 (break/cut price) + 扣 (deduct) = a discount taken off
折 zhé means to break or fold, and by extension to cut a price; 扣 kòu means to deduct or withhold. Together they name the amount knocked off the full price — a discount or rebate.
折 — hand 扌 + axe 斤
Originally written as 折 with a hand (扌) breaking or chopping something with an axe (斤), depicting the act of snapping or cutting in two. The core meaning 'to break, snap, fold' extends metaphorically to 'bend,' 'turn back,' and 'discount' (as in reducing a price by breaking off part).
扣 — hand radical 扌 + 口 (mouth/phonetic)
扣 is a phono-semantic compound: the hand radical 扌 signals an action done with the hand, while 口 (kǒu) supplies the sound. Its core sense is to knock, fasten, or buckle with the hand, later extending to deduct (as in deducting points) and to button up.