时尚
shí shàng · HSK 7
fad
👗 时 (time) + 尚 (esteem) = what the times esteem = fashion
时 means time/era and 尚 means to esteem or value highly. Together: whatever the current era esteems is what is in fashion. Sounds like shir-shahng.
时 — sun 日 + temple/measure 寺
Originally a phono-semantic compound: 日 (sun) gives the meaning of time or season, while 寺 (shí) supplies the sound. Early forms used 之 as the phonetic before 寺 replaced it. The core sense 'season, time, hour' has stayed stable since ancient Chinese.
尚 — 八 (eight/divide) over 向 (window/direction)
Originally depicted vapor or breath rising and dispersing upward from an opening, suggesting elevation and what is above. From this came the meanings 'still,' 'yet,' and 'to esteem' — what one looks up to. The modern senses of 'esteem' and 'still/yet' both stem from this upward orientation.