回数券
かいすうけん · kaisuuken · JLPT N2 · noun
ticket
🎫 回数 (count) + 券 (ticket) = a ticket for a set number of uses
Sold in bundles at a discount for trains and buses, each ride or entry uses up one count. 回数 means number of times, and 券 means ticket or voucher.
回 — enclosure 囗 + smaller 囗 inside
回 is a pictograph of a swirling whirlpool or coiled spiral, shown as nested squares in modern form. The original meaning was 'to revolve' or 'turn around,' which extended to 'return' and 'a time/occurrence.' It also appears as a phonetic in characters like 茴 and 廻.
数 — 婁 (lóu, phonetic) + 攵 (action radical)
数 is a phono-semantic compound. The right side 攵 (a hand holding a stick) suggests an action, originally tallying or counting by striking marks. The left side 婁 supplies the sound. Over time the meaning broadened from 'to count' to 'number' and 'several'.
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.