打电话

Why does 打电话 look like this?

This is a common Chinese phrase consisting of three characters: '打' (to hit/do/perform), '电' (electricity), and '话' (words/speech). Together, they literally mean 'to perform an electric speech,' which is how we say 'to make a phone call'! '打' uses the hand radical (扌), '电' shows lightning in a field, and '话' uses the speech radical (讠).