liu shu

Chinese writing

Also known as: six scripts

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July 15, 2026

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The term "liu shu" refers to the traditional classification of Chinese characters into six categories based on their formation and meaning. This system, developed over centuries, categorizes characters into:1
* Xiangxing (象形): Pictographs, originally simple pictures of objects.21
* Zhishi (指示): Ideographs, representing abstract concepts through symbols.1
* Huiyi (會意): Logical compounds, formed by combining elements with associated meanings.1
* Xingsheng (形聲): Phonetic-associative compounds, the most common type, combining a semantic radical with a phonetic component.31
* Zhuanzhu (轉注): Transformed cognates, where characters are modified to create related meanings.1
* Jiajie (假借): Phonetic loans, where characters are borrowed for words with similar pronunciations.1

This classification system highlights the logographic nature of Chinese writing, where characters represent meaningful units (morphemes) rather than sounds.314

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Chinese writing
Characteristics
…characters into six types (called liu shu, “six scripts”), the most common of which is xingsheng, a type of character that combines a semantic element (called a radical) with a phonetic element intended to remind the reader of the word’s pronunciation. The phonetic element is usually a contracted form of…
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…characters into six types (called liu shu, “six scripts”), the most common of which is xingsheng, a type of character that combines a semantic element (called a radical) with a phonetic element intended to remind the reader of the word’s pronunciation. The phonetic element is usually a contracted form of…
Read More