交换 (jiāo huàn) — to exchange, to swap; (telecommunications) to switch (a call or connection)

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

交 originally drew a human with crossed legs. In the modern shape, the upper part resembles a standing person.

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 換; 换 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 換, 手 is the hand part and 奐 gives the sound; this note is about 換, not the simplified 换.