样
yàng · HSK 6
appearance
🪵🐑 wood 木 + sheep 羊 (yáng → yàng): what kind of wooden sheep?
The right half 羊 is sheep (yáng), lending the sound. The left half 木 is wood. Together they form 样: a kind or type. The tone shifts down from yáng to yàng.
样 — wood radical 木 + sheep 羊
样 is a phono-semantic compound. The wood radical 木 originally hinted at meaning (a wooden model or sample), while 羊 (sheep) supplies the sound. From 'wooden pattern/template' it broadened to mean 'shape, form, kind, manner'.