人工智能
rén gōng zhì néng · HSK 7
intelligence
🤖 人工 = man-made (human + work) + 智能 = intelligence (wisdom + ability)
人工 (rén gōng) is human + labor, meaning man-made or artificial. 智能 (zhì néng) is wisdom + ability, meaning intelligence. Together: man-made intelligence.
人 — pictograph of a standing person
人 is a pictograph showing a person viewed from the side, with two strokes representing the legs and torso of a standing human. In oracle bone script it clearly depicted a figure leaning slightly forward. The meaning has remained 'person' or 'human' throughout its history.
能 — 厶 (head) + 月 (body/flesh) + 匕匕 (legs)
Originally a pictograph of a bear, showing its head, body, and powerful legs. Because bears were seen as strong and capable, the character was borrowed to mean 'ability' or 'can'. A new character 熊 (with the fire radical 灬) was later created for 'bear'.
rén gōng zhì néng · HSK 6
intelligence
🤖 人工 (man-made) + 智能 (intelligence) = artificial intelligence
人 person + 工 work = man-made/artificial. 智 wisdom + 能 ability = intelligence. Together: intelligence made by human work, i.e. AI.
人 — pictograph of a standing person
人 is a pictograph showing a person viewed from the side, with two strokes representing the legs and torso of a standing human. In oracle bone script it clearly depicted a figure leaning slightly forward. The meaning has remained 'person' or 'human' throughout its history.
能 — 厶 (head) + 月 (body/flesh) + 匕匕 (legs)
Originally a pictograph of a bear, showing its head, body, and powerful legs. Because bears were seen as strong and capable, the character was borrowed to mean 'ability' or 'can'. A new character 熊 (with the fire radical 灬) was later created for 'bear'.