号 means “number, signal”

ごう · gou

Also: nickname, item, title

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

さけぶ, よびな

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ゴウ

JLPT N3 · Taught in grade 3 · 5 strokes

The story

A mouth (口) above a breath forced out (丂): a loud cry, a name called out. 号 numbers and signals things: your phone 番号, the 信号 at every crossing, and the 号車, car number, marked on the platform where your carriage stops.

Used in 番号 (bangou, number), 信号 (shingou, traffic light), and 記号 (kigou, symbol)

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Learn 号 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.