天鹅
tiān é · HSK 7
swan
🦢 天鹅 = sky/heaven (天) + goose (鹅) — a swan is the heaven-goose
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.'
鹅 — 我 (wǒ, phonetic) + 鳥 (bird, semantic)
鹅 is a phono-semantic compound. The 鳥 component signals that it refers to a bird, while 我 provides the sound, echoing the goose's honking call. The simplified form replaces 鳥 with 鸟, but the structure and meaning—domestic goose—remain unchanged.