Several parts combine into one character.

Compound ideograph: 矢 (arrow) + 口 (mouth) = to know. Two etymological readings circulate: (1) "an archer who can verbally explain his technique knows what he's doing" — knowledge as articulable expertise; (2) "as an arrow strikes its target, words strike truth" — knowledge as accuracy. Either way, the encoded meaning aligns archery (precision) with speech (articulation). Identical across 繁體 / 新字体 / 简体.

知 pairs deeply with 道 (way / path) from earlier — Mandarin 知道 (zhīdào, "to know") literally means "to know the way", suggesting that knowledge in CJK thought is fundamentally directional / pathway-following.

Mandarin: zhī, level 1st tone. 知道 (zhīdào, to know — final tone neutral; one of the foundational Mandarin verbs), 知识 (zhīshi, knowledge), 知名 (zhīmíng, famous — "name known"), 通知 (tōngzhī, notice / notification), 不知不觉 (bùzhī bùjué, unconsciously / unawares). 不知道 (bù zhīdào, "I don't know") is among the most-spoken Mandarin phrases.

Japanese: on-reading チ (chi) — 知識 (chishiki, knowledge), 知能 (chinō, intelligence), 通知 (tsūchi, notification), 認知 (ninchi, cognition), 知性 (chisei, intellect). Kun-reading し.る (shi.ru, to know) is the everyday verb. Important Japanese distinction: 知る (shiru, to come to know / find out) vs. わかる (wakaru, to understand / be clear). Both translate to English "know", but native speakers feel a sharp difference — 知る is acquiring information; わかる is comprehending it.

お知らせ (oshirase, "an announcement / notification") is essential vocabulary at every Japanese workplace, school, and government office.

Memory aid: arrow + mouth — to know is to articulate accurately, like an arrow striking truth.