生物
shēngwù · HSK 7
organism
🦠🐛 生物 = 生 (life/living) + 物 (thing) = living thing
生 means to be born or alive; 物 means thing or matter. Put them together and you get any living thing, an organism. The same 物 shows up in 动物 (animal) and 植物 (plant).
生 — sprout 屮 above earth 土
Originally a pictograph showing a young plant sprouting from the ground, with 屮 (a sprout) above 土 (earth). The core meaning is 'to be born, to grow, to live,' which extends to 'raw, unripe, unfamiliar.' The modern form has simplified the sprout shape but preserves the image of new growth emerging from soil.