相识
xiāng shí · HSK 7
acquaintance
🤝 相 (each other) + 识 (to know) = mutually knowing each other, acquaintance
相 carries the mutual or reciprocal sense, and 识 means to know or recognize. Together they mark two people coming to know one another. The same 识 appears in 认识, to be acquainted.
识 — speech radical 讠 + 只 zhī (phonetic)
识 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The speech radical 讠 (言) signals meaning related to words or knowing, while 只 hints at the sound. Originally written 識 with 戠, it meant 'to recognize' or 'know'; later it broadened to include knowledge and awareness.