noun · Six methods of forming Chinese characters according to the Han dictionary Shuowen Jiezi: pictograms (象形 xiàng​xíng), ideograms (指事 zhǐ​shì), combined ideograms (会意 huì​yì), phono-semantic compounds (形声 xíng​shēng), loan characters (假借 jiǎ​jiè), and derivative characters (转注 zhuǎn​zhù).

“六书”是古代学者总结的汉字造字和用字规律。