Meaning of 形声
形声 means phono-semantic compound; one of the Six Scripts combining a semantic component (meaning) and a phonetic component (sound). Pronounced xíng shēng.
- phono-semantic compound; one of the Six Scripts combining a semantic component (meaning) and a phonetic component (sound)
Definitions & Examples
Jiāng江
hé和
hé河
dōu都
shì是
xíng形
shēng声
zì字
，
zuǒ左
biān边
shì是
xíng形
páng旁
shuǐ氵
，
yòu右
biān边
shì是
shēng声
páng旁
gōng工
hé和
kě可
。
Jiāng and hé are both phono-semantic characters, with the semantic water radical on the left and the phonetic components gōng and kě on the right.
Xíng形
shēng声
zì字
zhàn占
hàn汉
zì字
zǒng总
shù数
de的
bǎi百
fēn分
zhī之
bā八
shí十
yǐ以
shàng上
。
Phono-semantic characters account for over eighty percent of the total number of Chinese characters.
Bà爸
shì是
xíng形
shēng声
zì字
，
fù父
biǎo表
yì意
，
bā巴
biǎo表
yīn音
。
Bà is a phono-semantic character, with fù indicating the meaning and bā indicating the sound.
Xíng形
shēng声
yě也
jiào叫
xié谐
shēng声
，
shì是
liù六
shū书
zhōng中
zuì最
néng能
chǎn产
de的
zào造
zì字
fāng方
shì式
。
Phono-semantic compounds are also called xiéshēng and are the most productive method of character creation among the Six Scripts.