六书 (六書) liù shū

liù shū noun six methods
Domain: Modern Chinese 现代汉语 , Subdomain: , Concept:
Notes: Six methods of forming Chinese characters; a system of character classification into six categories, described in the Han dictionary Shuowen Jiezi 说文解字: (1) pictogram 象形, ideogram 指示, combined ideogram 会议, phonogram 形声, transfer character 转注, and loan character 假借 (Norman 1988, pp. 67-68; Sun 2006, loc. 1132)