类似
lèisì · HSK 3
be similar to
👯 类 (kind/type) + 似 (resemble) = similar in kind
类 means category or kind, and 似 means to resemble or seem. Together 类似 literally reads as resembling in category, hence similar or analogous. Common in phrases like 类似的情况 (a similar situation).
类 — rice 米 + big 大 + dog 犬
类 (traditional 類) originally combined 米 (rice/grains) with 犬 (dog), suggesting things grouped by similarity, possibly from sorting grains or comparing dogs of a kind. Over time it came to mean 'kind, type, category.' The simplified form keeps 米 over 大, dropping the dog.