手
て · te · JLPT N5 · noun
hand
✋ te = the hand you TEnd things with; kara-te = empty hand
手 is read te, as in karate (空手, empty hand) and tegami (手紙, letter = hand + paper). The character began as a drawing of a hand with fingers: the strokes are the wrist line and the spread fingers.
手 — pictograph of a hand with five fingers
手 is a pictograph showing an open hand with fingers and a wrist. Early bronze and oracle bone forms clearly depict five splayed fingers, which simplified over time into the modern shape. It keeps its original meaning of 'hand' and also serves as a radical in many characters related to hand actions.