形声

xíngshēng

Name by meaning, sound by analogy - Accounts for over 90% of Chinese characters. Composed of a "semantic radical" (indicating meaning category) and a "phonetic radical" (suggesting pronunciation)

Examples

妈

mā

Mother

Radical "女" (indicates female-related), phonetic "马 (mǎ)" suggests pronunciation

Stroke order

清

qīng

Clear

Radical "氵（水）" (indicates water-related), phonetic "青 (qīng)" suggests pronunciation

Stroke order

想

xiǎng

Think

Radical "心" (indicates mental activity), phonetic "相 (xiāng)" suggests pronunciation

Stroke order

说

shuō

Speak

Radical "讠（言）" (indicates speech-related), phonetic "兑 (duì)" suggests pronunciation

Stroke order

情

qíng

Emotion

Radical "忄（心）" (indicates mental-related), phonetic "青 (qīng)" suggests pronunciation

Stroke order

怕

pà

Afraid

Radical "忄（心）" (indicates mental-related), phonetic "白 (bái)" suggests pronunciation

Stroke order