象形文字

xiàngxíngwénzì

noun #21,645

Meanings

1 pictogram
2 hieroglyphics
3 pictographic writing
4 pictographic characters

Characters

image; shape; to resemble; elephant

form; shape; appearance

writing; script; language

character; written symbol; word

Examples

古埃及的象形文字是人类最早的书写系统之一。

Gǔ Āijí de xiàngxíngwénzì shì rénlèi zuì zǎo de shūxiě xìtǒng zhī yī.

Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics are one of the earliest writing systems in human history.

甲骨文是中文最早的象形文字形式。

Jiǎgǔwén shì Zhōngwén zuì zǎo de xiàngxíngwénzì xíngshì.

Oracle bone script is the earliest form of pictographic writing in Chinese.

Tips

culture

In Chinese linguistics, 象形 is one of the 'Six Categories' (六书) describing how Chinese characters were historically created — by depicting the shape of objects. Characters like 山 (mountain), 日 (sun), and 木 (tree) are classic examples of original pictograms.

Stroke Order

象 xiàng

形 xíng

文 wén

字 zì