话
huà · HSK 1
words
💬 话 = 讠(speech radical) + 舌 (tongue) — speech from the tongue
The 讠 radical on the left marks speech/words; 舌 on the right means tongue. Together: words produced by the tongue, i.e. speech or language. Same 舌 component appears in 活 (alive) and 甜 (sweet).
话 — speech radical 讠 (言) + tongue 舌
话 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left side 讠 (simplified from 言, 'speech') gives the meaning, signaling something said, while 舌 ('tongue') hints at the sound and reinforces the speaking sense. The traditional form 話 makes the 言 element explicit; today 话 means 'speech, talk, words.'