花样
huāyàng · HSK 7
pattern
🌸 花样 = 花 flower + 样 shape/type; flower-shapes branch into many patterns and varieties
花 (huā, flower) plus 样 (yàng, kind/shape) literally reads as flower-patterns. Like the many forms petals take, 花样 means an ornamental pattern or a whole range of varieties and tricks.
花 — grass radical 艹 + 化 (change/phonetic)
花 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The top 艹 (grass) signals the plant meaning, while 化 ('change, transform') gives the sound and hints at how buds change into blossoms. It originally meant 'flower' or 'blossom' and later extended to 'flowery, patterned, to spend.'
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'.