五点 (wǔ diǎn) — five o'clock

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

An older form had a crossed mark between a top bar and a bottom bar. The modern 五 keeps those bars, while the original idea is uncertain.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 點; 点 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 點 pairs 黑 (black) with 占 for its sound; the simplified 点 is a later abbreviation.