天使
tiān shǐ · HSK 7
angel
👼 天使 = 天 heaven + 使 messenger; a heavenly messenger is an angel
天 means sky or heaven and 使 means envoy or messenger (as in 大使, ambassador). Stack them and you get the heaven-sent messenger that English calls an angel.
天 — 一 (one/sky) above 大 (big person)
Originally a pictograph of a person (大) with an emphasized head, representing what is above — the sky or heavens. The top stroke evolved into 一, symbolizing the vast expanse overhead. From 'sky' it extended to mean 'day,' 'heaven,' and 'nature.'
使 — person radical 亻 + official 吏
Originally a phono-semantic compound: 亻 (person) gives the meaning and 吏 (official, also a phonetic clue) suggests the sound. The early sense was 'to send a person on a mission,' from which came 'envoy/messenger' and the broader meanings 'to use' and 'to cause/make.'