人格
réngé · HSK 7
character
🧑 人格 = person (人) + frame/standard (格) = a person's character
人 means person and 格 means frame, grid, or standard. Stack them and you get the framework that defines a person: their personality or character. The 格 of 人 is what kind of person they measure up to be.
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.
格 — wood 木 + 各 (each, phonetic)
格 is a semantic-phonetic compound: 木 (wood) gives the meaning, originally referring to a wooden frame, lattice, or crossbar, while 各 supplies the sound. From 'frame/grid' the meaning extended to 'pattern, standard, style' and the modern senses of 'square (in a grid)' and 'character/disposition'.