The​ ​Lowdown​ ​on​ ​the​ ​6​ ​Types​ ​of​ ​Chinese 

Characters 
Very​ ​little​ ​is​ ​known​ ​about​ ​the​ ​origins​ ​of​ ​the​ ​written​ ​Chinese​ ​language. 
However,​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​most​ ​common​ ​stories​ ​is​ ​about​ ​the​ ​minister​ ​of​ ​mythical 
Emperor​ ​Huang​ ​Di,​ ​仓颉​​ ​(cāng​ ​jié)​ ​Cang​ ​Jie,​ ​who​ ​allegedly​ ​saw​ ​the​ ​prints​ ​of 
birds’​ ​and​ ​animals​ ​feet​ ​as​ ​being​ ​distinct​ ​and​ ​individual.​ ​He​ ​then​ ​draw​ ​his​ ​own 
pictures​ ​of​ ​objects​ ​relating​ ​to​ ​their​ ​shape. 

The​ ​first​ ​type​ ​of​ ​writing​ ​was​ ​called​ ​oracle​ ​bone​ ​script​ ​甲骨文​​ ​(jiǎ​ ​gǔ​ ​wén) 
thought​ ​to​ ​have​ ​been​ ​used​ ​between​ ​1500​ ​and​ ​1000​ ​BCE.​ ​The​ ​script​ ​was​ ​etched 
onto​ ​turtle​ ​shells​ ​and​ ​animal​ ​bones,​ ​and​ ​then​ ​heated​ ​until​ ​they​ ​cracked.​ ​The 
Shang​ ​Dynasty​ ​courtiers​ ​would​ ​use​ ​the​ ​bones​ ​to​ ​tell​ ​the​ ​future. 

There​ ​are​ ​six​ ​different​ ​kinds​ ​of​ ​Chinese​ ​characters,​ ​known​ ​as​ ​六书​t​ ​(liù​ ​shū). 
However,​ ​there​ ​are​ ​three​ ​main​ ​categories:​ ​pictographs,​ ​ideographs​ ​and 
determinative-phonetics.​ ​The​ ​additional​ ​three​ ​methods​ ​are​ ​known​ ​as​ ​combined 
ideograms,​ ​transfer​ ​characters​ ​and​ ​loan​ ​characters,​ ​which​ ​are​ ​less​ ​related​ ​to 
the​ ​structure​ ​of​ ​a​ ​character​ ​and​ ​more​ ​with​ ​usage. 

Below​ ​is​ ​an​ ​explanation​ ​of​ ​the​ ​six​ ​different​ ​character​ ​types,​ ​when​ ​they​ ​were 
introduced​ ​into​ ​the​ ​written​ ​Chinese​ ​language,​ ​as​ ​well​ ​as​ ​examples​ ​of​ ​these 
characters. 

1.​ ​象形​​ ​(xiàng​ ​xíng)​ ​Pictographs 

The​ ​oldest​ ​character​ ​form​ ​are​ ​known​ ​as​ ​象形​​ ​(xiàng​ ​xíng)​ ​‘image​ ​shapes’​ ​by​ ​the 
lexicographer,​ ​Xu​ ​Shen​ ​许慎​​ ​(xǔ​ ​shèn).​ ​Some​ ​of​ ​the​ ​simplest​ ​objects​ ​to​ ​draw, 
where​ ​animals,​ ​tools​ ​and​ ​other​ ​natural​ ​phenomena,​ ​that​ ​we​ ​now​ ​call 
‘pictograph’​ ​characters. 

Some​ ​examples​ ​are: 

月​​ ​(yuè)​ ​moon 

山​​ ​(shān)​ ​mountain 

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火​​ ​(huǒ)​ ​fire 

水​​ ​(shuǐ)​ ​water 

人​​ ​(rén)​ ​man 

木​​ ​(mù)​ ​tree 

目​​ ​(mù)​ ​eye 

手​​ ​(shǒu)​ ​hand 

口​​ ​(kǒu)​ ​mouth 

Not​ ​only​ ​did​ ​these​ ​characters​ ​show​ ​natural​ ​objects,​ ​but​ ​also​ ​showed​ ​cultural 
advances​ ​that​ ​were​ ​occurring​ ​in​ ​China​ ​during​ ​this​ ​time. 

Some​ ​good​ ​examples​ ​would​ ​be​ ​刀​ ​(dāo)​ ​that​ ​shows​ ​a​ ​‘knife’,​ ​车​ ​(chē)​ ​‘cart’​ ​and 
网​​ ​(wǎng)​ ​which​ ​shows​ ​a​ ​‘net’.​ ​In​ ​an​ ​interesting​ ​modern​ ​twist,​ ​网​ ​(wǎng)​ ​is 
now​ ​used​ ​for​ ​the​ ​inter’net’. 

2.​ ​指事​​ ​(zhǐ​ ​shì)​ ​Ideographs 

These​ ​characters​ ​began​ ​to​ ​develop​ ​and​ ​showed​ 指 ​ 事​​ ​(zhǐ​ ​shì)​ ​‘indirect 
characters’​ ​or​ ​ideographs​ ​that​ ​were​ ​more​ ​abstract.​ ​Xu​ ​Shen​ ​referred​ ​to​ ​these 
characters​ ​as​ ​‘pointing​ ​to​ ​matters’.​ ​These​ ​abstract​ ​ideas​ ​were​ ​shown​ ​with 
metaphorical​ ​or​ ​symbolic​ ​pictographs. 

For​ ​example,​ ​one​ ​line​ ​一​ ​(yī),​ ​two​ ​lines​ ​二​ ​(èr),​ ​three​ ​lines​ ​三​ ​(sān)​ ​etc​ ​to 
indicate​ ​numbers​ ​‘1,2​ ​and​ ​3’,​ ​dots​ ​and​ ​lines​ ​added​ ​to​ ​horizontal​ ​lines​ ​to​ ​indicate 
characters​ ​such​ ​as​ ​‘up’​ ​上​ ​(shàng)​ ​and​ ​‘down’​ ​下​ ​(xià)​ ​and​ ​additional​ ​lines​ ​added 
to​ ​木​ ​(mù),​ ​to​ ​make​ ​末​ ​(mò)​ ​‘tip’​ ​and​ ​本​ ​(běn)​ ​‘root’. 

Other​ ​examples​ ​include​ ​伐​ ​(fá)​ ​showing​ ​a​ ​man​ ​亻​ ​and​ ​a​ ​spear​ ​戈​ ​to​ ​mean​ ​‘to 
hack’​ ​or​ ​‘attack’​ ​and​ ​a​ ​’hand‘​ ​with​ ​a​ ​’bow‘​ ​meaning​ ​‘to​ ​shoot‘​ ​射​ ​(shè). 

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3.​ ​形声​​ ​(xíng​ ​shēng)​ ​Determinative-Phonetic 
Characters 
As​ ​China​ ​developed​ ​quickly,​ ​Xu​ ​Shen​ ​created​ ​his​ ​most​ ​ingenious​ ​method​ ​of 
script​ ​known​ ​as​ ​形声​​ ​(xíng​ ​shēng)​ ​which​ ​combined​ ​the​ ​pictogram​ ​with 
phonetics​ ​and​ ​was​ ​known​ ​as​ ​‘determinative-phonetic​ ​characters’​ ​or​ ​phonetic 
compounds.​ ​This​ ​allowed​ ​scholars​ ​to​ ​create​ ​an​ ​unlimited​ ​amount​ ​of​ ​characters 
and​ ​it​ ​was​ ​at​ ​this​ ​time​ ​that​ ​the​ ​evolution​ ​of​ ​the​ ​written​ ​Chinese​ ​script​ ​was 
almost​ ​complete. 

Here​ ​are​ ​some​ ​example​ ​of​ ​how​ ​these​ ​characters​ ​work: 

DeterminativePhonetic  Compound 
水​​ ​(shuǐ)  其​​ ​(qí)​ ​his,​ ​her,​ ​its,​ ​this, 
淇​​ ​(qí)​ ​River​ ​Qi 
water  that 
玉​​ ​(yù)​ ​jade  其​​ ​(qí)  琪​​ ​(qí)​ ​a​ ​valuable​ ​white​ ​stone
土​​ ​(tǔ)​ ​earth  其​​ ​(qí)  基​​ ​(jī)​ ​foundation 
木​​ ​(mù)​ ​wood  反​​ ​(fǎn)​ ​to​ ​turn​ ​over  板​​ ​(bǎn)​ ​board 
木​​ ​(mù)​ ​wood  每​​ ​(měi)​ ​every  梅​​ ​(méi)​ ​plum 
 

The​ ​character​ ​木​ ​(mù)​ ​is​ ​nearly​ ​always​ ​the​ ​‘determinative’​ ​in​ ​a​ ​compound​ ​word. 
This​ ​means​ ​that​ ​the​ ​compounds​ ​are​ ​almost​ ​always​ ​associated​ ​with​ ​wood​ ​or 
something​ ​wooden. 

Since​ ​the​ ​number​ ​of​ ​determinatives​ ​are​ ​relatively​ ​small,​ ​the​ ​‘radical’​ ​system 
was​ ​created​ ​by​ ​Xu​ ​Shen​ ​and​ ​说文解字​​ ​(shuō​ ​wén​ ​jiě​ ​zì)​ ​the​ ​Chinese​ ​Dictionary 
was​ ​completed​ ​in​ ​121AD​ ​and​ ​included​ ​540​ ​radicals​ ​or​ 部 ​ 首​​ ​(bù​ ​shǒu).​ ​During 
the​ ​Ching​ ​dynasty​ ​(1644-1911​ ​AD),​ ​these​ ​540​ ​radicals​ ​were​ ​reduced​ ​to​ ​214,​ ​and 
these​ ​still​ ​exist​ ​today. 

One​ ​of​ ​the​ ​changes​ ​that​ ​occurred​ ​to​ ​the​ ​Chinese​ ​language,​ ​was​ ​the​ ​phonetic 
pronunciations​ ​of​ ​some​ ​characters​ ​that​ ​are​ ​almost​ ​unrecognizable​ ​to​ ​the 
original​ ​phonetics. 

A​ ​good​ ​example​ ​of​ ​this​ ​is​ ​the​ ​phonetic​ ​of​ ​工​ ​(gōng)​ ​which​ ​means​ ​‘work’: 

CharacterPronunciation​ ​/​ ​PinyinMeaning 

功  gōng  achievement 

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红  hóng  red 
杠  gàng​ ​/​ ​gāng  bar​ ​/​ ​pole 
扛  káng​ ​/​ ​gāng  to​ ​carry​ ​high​ ​or​ ​above​ ​shoulders
river 
江  jiāng 
 

 
4.​ ​会意​​ ​(huì​ ​yì)​ ​Combined​ ​Ideographs 
会意​​ ​(huì​ ​yì)​ ​or​ ​‘meeting​ ​of​ ​ideas’​ ​combine​ ​two​ ​or​ ​more​ ​pictographs​ ​or 
ideographs​ ​to​ ​create​ ​a​ ​new​ ​character.​ ​For​ ​example,​ 明 ​ ​ ​(míng)​ ​‘bright’,​ ​is​ ​made 
up​ ​of​ ​日​ ​(rì)​ ​meaning​ ​‘sun’​ ​and​ ​月​ ​(yuè)​ ​meaning​ ​‘moon’,​ ​好​ ​(hǎo)​ ​‘good’​ ​is​ ​made 
up​ ​of​ ​女​ ​(nǚ)​ ​‘woman’​ ​and​ ​子​ ​(zǐ)​ ​child. 

Here​ ​are​ ​some​ ​more​ ​examples​ ​of​ ​会意​ ​(huì​ ​yì)​ ​characters: 

女​​ ​(nǚ)​ ​woman​ ​+​ ​宀​ ​(mián)​ ​roof​ ​=​ ​安​ ​(ān)​ ​safe 

手​​ ​(shǒu)​ ​hand​ ​+​ ​目​ ​(mù)​ ​eye​ ​=​ ​看​ ​(kàn)​ ​to​ ​see 

人​​ ​(rén)​ ​man​ ​＋​ ​木​ ​(mù)​ ​tree​ ​=​ ​休​ ​(xiū)​ ​to​ ​rest 

田​​ ​(tián)​ ​field​ ​+​ ​木​ ​(mù)​ ​tree​ ​=​ ​果​ ​(guǒ)​ ​fruit 

These​ ​compound​ ​characters​ ​do​ ​not​ ​usually​ ​take​ ​phonetics​ ​from​ ​either 
pictograph​ ​or​ ​ideograph​ ​within​ ​the​ ​character. 

5.​ ​转注​​ ​(zhuǎn​ ​zhù)​ ​Transfer​ ​Characters 

转注​​ ​(zhuǎn​ ​zhù)​ ​‘transfer’​ ​characters​ ​are​ ​the​ ​most​ ​difficult​ ​to​ ​explain​ ​and​ ​are 
the​ ​least​ ​understood.​ ​These​ ​characters​ ​could​ ​be​ ​interchangeably​ ​with​ ​each 
other​ ​due​ ​to​ ​them​ ​sharing​ ​the​ ​same​ ​radical​ ​and​ ​having​ ​a​ ​similar​ ​etymology. 

For​ ​example, 

爸​​ ​(bà)​ ​/​ ​父​ ​(fù)​ ​father 

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6.​ ​假借​​ ​(jiǎ​ ​jiè)​ ​Loan​ ​Characters 
The​ ​final​ ​category​ ​are​ ​the​ ​假借​​ ​(jiǎ​ ​jiè)​ ​or​ ​‘loan​ ​characters’.​ ​This​ ​method​ ​‘loans’ 
the​ ​physical​ ​character​ ​of​ ​a​ ​homophonous​ ​word.​ ​A​ ​homophone​ ​is​ ​a​ ​word​ ​that 
sounds​ ​similar,​ ​but​ ​have​ ​a​ ​different​ ​meaning. 

For​ ​example,​ ​back​ ​in​ ​the​ ​day,​ ​there​ ​was​ ​no​ ​character​ ​for​ ​the​ ​abstract​ ​idea​ ​of​ ​‘to 
come’.​ ​Since​ ​there​ ​was​ ​already​ ​an​ ​existing​ ​character​ ​with​ ​the​ ​same 
pronunciation,​ ​莱​ ​(lái),​ ​the​ ​cereal​ ​plant​ ​was​ ​‘loaned’​ ​to​ ​the​ ​new​ ​character,​ ​来 
(lái). 

其​ ​(qí)​ ​meaning​ ​‘basket’,​ ​was​ ​lent​ ​to​ ​其​ ​(qí)​ ​meaning​ ​‘he’,​ ​‘she’,​ ​‘it’​ ​etc. 

The​ ​original​ ​meaning​ ​of​ ​the​ ​character​ 西 ​ ​ ​(xī),​ ​that​ ​now​ ​means​ ​‘west’,​ ​was​ ​a​ ​bird 
in​ ​a​ ​nest.​ ​许慎​ ​Xu​ ​Shen​ ​said​ ​that​ ​the​ ​bird​ ​rested​ ​in​ ​the​ ​nest​ ​when​ ​the​ ​sun​ ​was​ ​in 
the​ ​west​ ​and​ ​therefore​ ​gave​ ​the​ ​character​ ​over​ ​to​ ​‘west’. 

The​ ​Evolution​ ​of​ ​Chinese​ ​Characters 

The​ ​evolution​ ​of​ ​Chinese​ ​characters​ ​is​ ​an​ ​long​ ​and​ ​interesting​ ​one,​ ​but​ ​can 
usually​ ​be​ ​split​ ​into​ ​4​ ​separate​ ​stages: 

1.The​ ​Primitive​ ​Stage 

At​ ​this​ ​stage,​ ​Chinese​ ​script​ ​were​ ​pictographs​ ​from​ ​objects​ ​and​ ​have​ ​said​ ​to 
have​ ​originated​ ​more​ ​than​ ​10,000​ ​years​ ​ago. 

2.The​ ​Archaic​ ​Stage 

There​ ​is​ ​evidence​ ​that​ ​suggests​ ​pictographs​ ​were​ ​completed​ ​between​ ​5000 
and​ ​6000​ ​years​ ​ago. 

3.​ ​The​ ​Neo-Archaic​ ​Stage 

During​ ​this​ ​time,​ ​determinative-​ ​phonetic​ ​characters​ ​begin​ ​to​ ​appear​ ​and 
continued​ ​for​ ​around​ ​1600​ ​years.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​also​ ​in​ ​this​ ​period​ ​when​ ​the​ ​Chinese 
script​ ​completed​ ​its​ ​structural​ ​evolution. 

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4.​ ​The​ ​Contemporary​ ​Stage 
Both​ ​the​ ​structural​ ​and​ ​formal​ ​evolution​ ​is​ ​now​ ​stable,​ ​however,​ ​the 
determinate-phonetic​ ​characters​ ​continue​ ​to​ ​develop. 

After​ ​the​ ​introduction​ ​of​ ​楷书​​ ​(kǎi​ ​shū)​ ​standard​ ​script​ ​during​ ​the​ ​Wei​ ​and​ ​Jin 
Dynasties,​ ​few​ ​changes​ ​have​ ​been​ ​made​ ​until​ ​the​ ​early​ ​1950s. 

Sources: 

http://www.ancientscripts.com/chinese.html 

Fun​ ​with​ ​Chinese​ ​Characters​ ​1:​ ​The​ ​Straits​ ​Times​ ​Collection​ ​1 

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