zoeng6 jing4象形

Jyutpingzoeng6 jing4

Yalejeuhng yìhng

名詞

Definition

Pictograph; a method of Chinese character classification based on drawing the shape of physical objects.

neutralschool

How it's used

Refers specifically to the etymological classification of Chinese characters where the written form directly mimics the physical object it represents. It is one of the six categories of character formation known as 六書. While linguistically precise, it is rarely used in casual daily conversation unless discussing calligraphy, history, or language learning.

Examples

ni1呢go3個zi6字hai6係zoeng6象jing4形，waa2畫ceot1出lai4嚟hou2好ci5似go3個taai3太joeng4陽gam3咁。

This character is a pictograph; it looks like a sun when drawn out.

nei5你zi1知m4唔zi1知bin1邊di1啲zi6字suk6屬jyu1於zoeng6象jing4形man4文zi6字aa4呀？

Do you know which characters belong to the pictograph category?

Common phrases

zoeng6象jing4形man4文zi6字

pictographic characters

Common mistake

Learners often confuse this with 形聲, which are characters that include a semantic component and a phonetic component. Remember that 象形 characters are essentially stylized drawings, whereas the vast majority of Chinese characters are actually 形聲.