瞑想
míng​xiǎng

meditation

瞑 míng, méng, mián close eyes

One's eyes 目at night 冥; 冥 also provides the pronunciation

Components

目
目 Meaning component
mù eye
冥
冥 SoundMeaning component
míng, mián, miàn dark

Character Evolution

Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Old Chinese
Zhengzhangmeːn
meːns
meːŋ

說文解字

翕目也。从目、冥，冥亦聲。

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Zhengzhang Shangfang
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)

想 xiǎng think

Phonosemantic compound. 心 represents the meaning and 相 represents the sound.

Components

心
心 Meaning component
xīn, xin heart
相
相 Sound component
xiāng, xiàng mutual

Character Evolution

Bronze form
Bronze Late Spring and Autumn ~500 BC
Seal form
Seal Shuowen ~100 AD
Clerical form
Clerical Eastern Han 25-220 AD
Regular Modern

Historical Pronunciations

Middle ChineseOld ChineseGloss
Baxter-SagartsjangX[s]aŋʔ think

說文解字

《說文》：“想，冀思也。从心，相聲。”

Sources

Readings & variants
Unicode
Historical pronunciations
Baxter-Sagart
Historical images
Academia Sinica
Etymology
Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字)