Types of Chinese characters

How can we classify different types of characters? Traditionally, Chinese characters are classified into six types based on their formation or derivation:

Pictograms 象形字 (xiàngxíngzì)

Simple ideograms 指事字 (zhǐshìzì)

These characters are visual representations of abstract concepts. Examples:

1. 上 (shàng) up
2. 下 (xià) down
3. 中 (zhōng) middle
4. 二  (èr) two
5. 三  (sān) three

Compound ideograms 会意字 (huìyìzì)

These characters consist of two components that work together to convey the intended meaning. For instance, in Chinese, 菜 (cài) means “vegetable”. The determinative艹 represents plants, while 采 (cǎi) means “harvest”. Combined, these elements become  菜 (cài) which means “vegetable”. Examples:

1. 安 (ān) safe               =          宀 (roof) + 女 (woman)
2. 休 (xiū) to rest           =          亻(man) + 木 (tree)
3. 林 (lín) woods           =          木 (tree) + 木 (tree)
4. 看 (kàn) to look         =          手 (hand) + 目 (eye)
5. 果 (guǒ) fruit              =          田 (field) + 木 (tree)

Phono-semantic characters 形声字 (xíngshēngzì)

These characters consist of a semantic and phonetic component, which means that very often one component of the character represents its meaning, while the other represents its sound. These represent 80% of Chinese characters.

Typically, a character’s sound element is on the right-hand side, while its meaning component is on the left. Although, there are cases where the phonetic part is at the top, and the semantic part is at the bottom, or where the phonetic component is inside the character and the semantic element is outside, and vice versa. The semantic portion, which is often the radical, is what provides the character’s meaning. Examples:

1. 拍 (pāi) to clap/hit    =          扌(hand radical) + 白 (bái)
2. 饭 (fàn) rice               =          饣(food radical) + 反 (fǎn)
3. 绸 (chou) silk             =          丝 (silk) + 周 (zhōu)
4. 映 (yìng) reflection   =          日(sun) + 央 (yang) 
5. 瞪 (dèng) to stare     =          目 (eye) + 登 (dēng)

Rebus (Phonetic Loan) characters 假借字 (jiǎjièzì)

A character is considered a rebus character when it is borrowed from another character and has the same pronunciation but a different meaning. Often, the original character adopted the new meaning, and new characters were devised to represent the original meanings of the borrowed characters. Examples: 四，北，要，少，永

Transfer characters 转注字 (zhuǎnzhùzì)