自行车 (zì xíng chē)

Character breakdown

• 自 (zì) · 6 strokes

  Pictograph of a nose. Original form of 鼻 (nose). In China, when people point to themselves, they typically point to their nose.

• 行 (háng) · 6 strokes

  Depicts a street intersection.

• 车 (Chē) · 4 strokes

  Pictograph of a war chariot. The simplified character 车 was adapted from the cursive form of the traditional character 車.