证人
zhèng rén · HSK 7
witness
👁️ 证 (evidence) + 人 (person) = the evidence-person who testifies = witness
证 means proof or evidence (as in 证据), and 人 is person. A 证人 is literally the evidence-person: the one whose account stands as proof in court. zhèng rén stacks proof and person into one word.
证 — speech radical 讠 + 正 (correct/upright)
证 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The speech radical 讠 (言) signals it relates to words or testimony, while 正 (zhèng, 'upright/correct') gives the sound and hints at 'verifying truth.' Originally written 證, it meant to testify or prove; today it means evidence, certificate, or to prove.
人 — pictograph of a standing person
人 is a pictograph showing a person viewed from the side, with two strokes representing the legs and torso of a standing human. In oracle bone script it clearly depicted a figure leaning slightly forward. The meaning has remained 'person' or 'human' throughout its history.