思想
sīxiǎng · HSK 3
thought
💭 思 (think) + 想 (ponder) = thought / ideology
思 carries the heart radical 心 under 田, suggesting reflection. 想 stacks 相 (mutual) over 心 (heart) — turning something over in the heart. Together they name structured thought or ideology.
想 — heart 心 + 相 (xiāng, phonetic)
想 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The heart radical 心 at the bottom carries the meaning, since classical Chinese located thought and feeling in the heart. The top component 相 (xiāng) supplies the sound, and over time the character settled into the senses 'to think,' 'to want,' and 'to miss.'