The secrets of how the chinese characters were created six ways 六书



Image you were in 8000 years ago, just have
spare time from hunting, how do you record
the nature and events around you?



Draw a simple picture.



This is the Pictographs.

Presented by LegooMandarin.com

2



Chinese is a pictorial language:

人 Rén People


3



It’s an abstract art

行 Xíng walk; travel:


4



No alphabet but have Component Part
(Radicals)

字 zì is made of by 宀 roof & 子zi


son

5










There are six ways of How the Chinese
Characters were Created called:
六书
Liù shū six ways or six writings
1
2
3
4
5
6

象形
指事
会意
形声
转注
假借

Xiàng xíng
zhǐ shì
huì yì
xíng shēng
zhuǎn zhù
jiǎ jiè

Pictographs
Indicatives
Ideographs
Phonetic compounds
Mutual explanatories
Phonetic loans


6

1

象形

Xiàng xíng

Pictograph

A pictograph, also called pictogram, is an
ideogram that conveys its meaning through its
pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Most
of Chinese characters were originally pictures of
objects.


7

1

象形

Xiàng xíng

Pictograph

日 Rì sun

8

1

象形

月

Xiàng xíng

Pictograph

Yuè moon

9

1

象形

Xiàng xíng

山

Pictograph

Shān Mountain


10

1

象形

Xiàng xíng

人 rén

Pictograph

people

11

1

象形

刀

Xiàng xíng

Dāo

Pictograph

knife


12

1

象形

Xiàng xíng

木

Mù

Pictograph

wood, tree


13



37

口

Kǒu Mouth


14



24

禾

Hé

Grain


15



31

马

Mǎ

Horse

kuda


16



32

牛

Niú

Cow

17



33

羊

YángSheep


18



34

虫

Chóng

Insect


19



35

鱼

Yú

Fish

ikan
20



36

鸟

Niǎo

Bird


burung

21

2

指事 zhǐ shì

Indicatives

Indication refers to the way to form abstract
characters with indicating signs. Chinese
characters are abstract art and good at
indicating the abstract world, and things, like 1,
2, 3, up, down….


22

2

指事 zhǐ shì

一 Yī

Indicatives

one


23

2

指事 zhǐ shì

二

Èr

Indicatives

two


24

2

指事 zhǐ shì

三

Indicatives

Sān three


25

2

指事 zhǐ shì

Indicatives
one extra stroke
to highlight the
top

上

Shàng

up, top


26

2

指事 zhǐ shì

Indicatives

one extra stroke to
highlight the bottom

下

Xià

down; below

27

2

指事 zhǐ shì

Indicatives
刀

Dāo

knife

one extra
stroke to
highlight the
edge

刃
Rèn the edge of a knife,
sword, etc.; blade:

28

木

Mù

wood, tree


29

2

本

指事 zhǐ shì

Běn
1 the root or stem of a plant
2 foundation; basis; origin

Indicatives

one extra stroke
at below to
highlight the
root.


30

2

指事 zhǐ shì

one extra stroke
at top to
end of a tree

Indicatives

末 Mò

1 tip; end of a tree
2 end; last stage:


31



37

口

Kǒu Mouth


32

2

指事 zhǐ shì

Indicatives
one extra stroke
at top to
emphasis the
sweet taste

甘

Gān sweet

33

3

会意

huì yì

Ideographs

An ideograph, also called ideogram,
is a graphic symbol that represents
an idea or concept.


34

日 Rì sun

35

月

Yuè moon

36

3

会意

明

huì yì

Míng

Ideographs

bright


37



13

明

Míng

Bright

terang


38

3

会意

huì yì

Ideographs

人 rén people

从

cóng follow

39

4

形声 xíng shēng

Phonetic compounds

Phonetic compounds consists of a radical
and a phonetic. The radical normally gives
the hint of meaning and the phonetic
indicates the pronunciation.


40



女

Nǚ girl, female

41

 取 Qǔ

take; get; fetch

 女 Nǚ girl, female
 娶 Qǔ marry (a woman); take to wife:
phonetic

取 Qǔ

radical : 女
Nǚ girl,
female


42

4

形声 xíng shēng

Phonetic compounds
phonetic

家 jiā

radical 女 Nǚ
girl, female

嫁

Jià

(of a woman) marry

43

4

形声 xíng shēng



Phonetic compounds

我 Wǒ I, me

44



35

饣(食)

 食字旁 Shí zì páng


Food; eat


45

4

形声 xíng shēng

Phonetic compounds
phonetic

我 Wǒ

Radical:

饣

Food; eat

饿

È Hungary


46

4

形声 xíng shēng

Phonetic compounds
phonetic

我 Wǒ

Radical:鸟

Niǎo ； bird

鹅

É Geese


47

5 转注

zhuǎn zhù Mutual explanation

Mutual explanation is a way using existing
characters to explain others, which share the
same radical, meaning and mutually explainable.


48

5 转注


至 Zhì to; until:

到 dào

arrive; reach

49

5 转注


Lǎo old;
kǎo old ( now used as exam)
qí 60 years,
dié 70 and 80 years old
90 years and above? called fairy, maybe

50

6

假借

jiǎ jiè Phonetic loans

Phonetic loans is also a way borrowing existing
characters to represent other meaning or things.
This is a way to avoid to create countless
characters to represent the countless objects
and things in the universe.


51

北 Běi originally means
the back, the two
person back to back. It
was borrowed to mean
North

A new “背Bèi”
was made
combining “北
Běi” and “月 yue,
flesh” to show
the back.


52

求Qiú originally
means leather cloth .
It was borrowed to
mean "beg, ask,
request".

A new “裘Qiú” was made
combining “求Qiú” and “
衣cloth” to mean leather
cloth .

53

然Rán, originally
means burn, the
four dot mesns fire.
It was borrowed to
mean “ then,
otherwise”

A new “燃Rán” with
extra “ 火 fire”
radical to mean burn.


54

The secrets of how the chinese characters were created six ways 六书

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The secrets of how the chinese characters were created six ways 六书