‘符号’ (fú hào) literally combines ‘符’ (fú), meaning ‘talisman,’ ‘token,’ or ‘sign,’ and ‘号’ (hào), meaning ‘mark,’ ‘signal,’ or ‘designation.’ Together, they form the general term for ‘symbol’ — any visual, auditory, or conceptual sign that represents something else, often abstractly. Unlike more specialized terms like ‘标志’ (biāozhì, ‘logo’ or ‘marker’) or ‘记号’ (jìhào, ‘mark’ or ‘notation’), ‘符号’ emphasizes representational function and is widely used in linguistics, mathematics, computing, and semiotics.

In everyday Chinese, ‘符号’ appears in contexts ranging from traffic signs and mathematical operators to cultural emblems and animal markings — for instance, a tiger’s stripes are called ‘自然的保护符号’ (natural protective symbols). It carries a neutral, slightly formal register and is common in both written and spoken standard Mandarin, especially when discussing systems of meaning or representation.